Debbie Downer
World Diabetes Day was yesterday. A chance to put a huge spotlight on something we deal with every second of every day. I’ve been reading about so many members of the DOC doing their part to spread the word . It’s truly inspiring stuff. But I did notice sometime during the “celebration” that was a total buzz kill.
A great number of you noticed that World Diabetes Day was the #1 trending topic on Twitter. Joining the likes of #threewordssftersex, #uknowuuglywhen, and #newmoon among hashtaged elite. Yes, that was with a bit of sarcasm, but it was very cool to see something positive atop the trends instead of the nonsense that proliferates Twitter at times. Of course we have the Jonas brothers to thank for this, don’t we?
I have no problem with little Nick promoting #wdd09, actually I applaud his openness. I wonder if #wdd09 would have made a dent if he hadn’t put anything out there for the tweens to retweet. All the effort from the DOC felt like it was only being noticed by us until he put out those 140 characters. I wonder how many of those Jonas faithful know anything about or care about Diabetes. And I understand the irony in that rhetorical statement, since I knew nothing about Diabetes before my diagnosis.
I read about so many of you doing great things to spread awareness but the skeptic in me wonders how much of an impact we are making. Twitter isn’t the be-all metric for success, but when 1 tweet from a Jonas can do that when we have been posting #bgnow and #bgwed and #stopdiabetes diligently with virtually no recognition…are we actually making a difference?
I’m not trying to dismiss what all of you have done, are doing, and continue to do. Truth be told, I’m not the world’s fiercest advocate. I’m not a great spokesperson. But I can do better. I know that much.
I guess the point is for everyone to do their part, no matter how small right? I mean I have gotten members of the Talking About Games community to put a little blue circle on their picture, so I can point to that as my minuscule contribution to awareness.
Sorry to be a downer. I’ve said before that the DOC has made a HUGE impact in my life. Keep fighting. I’ll be right there with you. With my BlackBerry at the ready.
Stop Diabetes
Yeah, I was saddened that was why WDD was the trending topic.
But we can’t give up. The best thing we can do is try.
You are so not a Debbie Downer. To be honest, WDD left me feeling more alone and isolated, rather than a part of something. Weird, huh? I didn’t say anything on my blog, but Lee Ann has urged me to write an honest post about that. I think I’ll tackle it tomorrow . . .
Not a downer at all. I agree with you but as long as we keep fighting like you said we’ll be heard. We’ll have to start earlier and harder this time.
Like the others said, you’re not a downer. It seems inevitable to me that WDD will just highlight the ennui, complacency, ambivalence and ignorance that the rest of the world has about diabetes. I mean, sh*t, I was AT a WDD event, and my presence mattered to no one but the other DOC members who made appearances.