Health Social Networks

This is part two of my interview with Manny Hernandez President of TuDiabetes.

Part one of this interview can be found at TuDiabetes Interview - Manny Hernandez

Do you see Doctors becoming more involved with patients' sites?

Absolutely! In the recent Health 2.0 conference, Dr. Greene (of drgreene.com fame) was making this point and I completely agree about its importance. We are beginning to work with more doctors on EsTuDiabetes.com, our Spanish community.

How much weight do people give to UGC information compared to professional/official content?

Patients trust UGC a lot because it comes straight from other patients: they don't perceive it to be biased.

Having said that, we always emphasize how critical it is to run ALL health decisions by your doctor before making ANY adjustment to their treatment. Also, when the patient brings to the doctor's office something s/he read online, it directs the doctor to investigate about it, further helping get new information out into the field.

Pharma companies seem to stay away from UGC sites, do you think that will change in the future?

It HAS to change: people talk among themselves, whether Pharma companies like it or not. Not partnering with UGC sites will not change this.

Mobile phones and Health Social Networks, does it work? Will it work?

Platforms such as Ning (which we use for both our networks) offer natively a mobile interface that works very well for mobile users. Certain groups (like US Hispanics, for instance) have embraced mobile access

more than they have internet access, so I think there's opportunity for mobile AND internet-based initiatives.

And a bit about you…

What blogs to you follow?

Diabetes: DiabetesMine, SixUntilMe, David Mendosa's Shareposts,

Technology: TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb,

Health: HealthcareVox, WSJ Health Blog, The Health 2.0 blog

Nonprofits: Netsquared Blog, Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

Who's the person who influenced you most?

My father. He taught me the value of hard work and ethics. He was a great man and an immense inspiration for me.

Why did YOU choose to work in the health social network arena?

Having diabetes and seeing the power of social media really made it pretty compelling for me to take the plunge. I do not regret it, in spite of all the challenges.

What scares you most about the Health Social Network vertical?

I wouldn't say "scare" but I am concerned when I hear people in this vertical and Health 2.0 at large talking as much about "consumers" and not as much about "patients." As idealistic as this may sound, the message this conveys is one where profits are more important than people and their health, and I have a fundamental issue with that.

What would you like your next project to be? (in 10 years)

We will have developed a number of offline awareness initiatives to reach out to people and educate them

about diabetes and its grave consequences, along with its symptoms, so we can help revert the increasing incidence of diabetes and help those who have it to better manage it.

Do you dream?

I do: I dream of a cure for diabetes. In the meantime, I dream about people touched by diabetes not feeling alone.

How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

5-6

In one sentence – how would you like people to describe YOU?

I am an optimist: I am normally smiling and joking about things, in spite of the challenges we may be facing.

Thank you very much for this interview and GOOD LUCK.