The Alzheimer's Reading Room is undergoing the metamorphosis and transition that I hoped it would.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room
At the beginning of the year, I said one of the major goals of the this blog was to unleash the Collective Brain of the Alzheimer's Reading Room. One part of that goal was to create more interaction and to increase the number of reader comments.
So far so good. So very very good.
In the last two weeks, we had many high quality comments. These comments fall into the category of insight and advice. This sharing helps accomplish the goal of making the ARR more support group oriented.
From my seat, I believe comments improve the quality of the content on this blog. It is my belief that the comments are often better than the article. At the minimum, the comments enhance the topic and the quality of the information being presented.
One thing to consider. Every article on this blog gets archived. This means it is available forever. As we know, a new Alzheimer's caregiver is born every 70 seconds. The information, the articles, and the comments are available to new born via search engines like Google. I believe you will agree that new born caregivers are going to need lots of advice and insight. In this sense, we are there for them.
It is not unusual to receive an email of thanks from someone that read an article that was published in the past. They searched for information and found the Alzheimer's Reading Room. We helped them.
One of the most frequent emails I receive includes these words -- thanks to the Alzheimer's Reading Room I no longer feel alone. It seems that we are doing a very good job of helping Alzheimer's caregiver understand they are not alone. I believe this is one of the most important, if not the most important, hurdles a caregiver must accomplish to be effective in their new found role as a caregiver. Lets face it, it gets lonely out there.
Five times this week, I answered an email by recommending to a new caregiver that they look at a list of articles. I now find myself including these words -- be sure to look at the comments below the article for additional advice and insight. I enjoy typing those words.
The amount of emails I receive is sometimes overwhelming. I am now learning how to point readers to articles and comments. I know this is effective. I know this is needed. I believe like me you understand the importance of the information. At the minimum new caregivers will jump up the learning curve sooner.
I am also learning how to bring comments back up as new articles to be rediscussed. I am learning that this really adds depth to an article, topic, or issue. When I read some of these articles with new comments in the last few weeks I really felt encouraged. I thought, I wish I had this information back at the beginning. I also thought, I hope new caregivers find this information or that someone tells them it is available.
The Alzheimer's Reading Room is undergoing the metamorphosis and transition that I hoped it would. There are other subtle little changes I am making to improve the blog that you might be noticing.
I know this might sound trite but I am going to say this anyway,
You Complete the Alzheimer's Reading Room.
- Advice and Insight -- Alzheimer's Caregiving
- What is Alzheimer's Disease ?
- Dementia and the Eight Types of Dementia
- Does the Combination of Aricept and Namenda Help Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer's Patients
- Communicating in Alzheimer's World
- Test Your Memory (TYM) for Alzheimer's or Dementia in Five Minutes
- Dr Oz Alzheimer's Memory Quiz (Test)
- Alzheimer's Clock Draw Test -- Detect the Signs of Alzheimer's Early
- Is it Really Alzheimer's or Something Else?
- 60 Good Reasons to Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading Room
Bob DeMarco is the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. Bob has written more than 1,200 articles with more than 9,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.
Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room
