Sometimes I look at the referrer logs to see why/how people find the website. Today's most popular search terms:
What does this mean? I'm not sure yet .. but it's interesting .. and interesting in the context of Steve's persistence in attempting to get Dave's attention for medical weblogs at BloggerCon. Maybe we'll have to storm Cambridge some Thursday. I grew up about 4 blocks from where they have the meetings …
So .. egged on by Steve .. I sent Dave an e-mail about why medical weblogs are good:
From: Jacob Reider To: (Dave with cc to steve) Date: Thursday – August 7, 2003 11:28 PM Subject: RE: Invite: BloggerCon, Harvard Law, Oct 4 Steve .. thanks.
Dave … we ARE wondering about how you feel about the medical weblogs. Seems thay you've not felt they would be an interesting adjunct to BloggerCon.
You may wonder … so what?
hmm …
a) People look for medical information on the Internet:
"Searches for medical information:
Fully 80% of adult Internet users, or about 93 million Americans, have searched for at least one of 16 major health topics online. "
b) The physician-patient relationship is a tenuous partnership … ideally with shared decisionmaking and a carefully navigated intimacy. Yet the history (and many patients' experiences) of the profession have defined a different landscape: one of potential mistrust, fear, and power struggles (whether real or imagined).
Medical weblogs come in many forms, but they all serve one common function: they enhance the transparency of the work we do. Whether this is through vignettes of daily experience .. or tidbits of medical news … or even .. yes .. a bit of ranting … they REVEAL our inner thoughts, our research, our fatigue, our failures and our excitement.
Before medlogs … most of this was hidden from the majority of Americans .. aside from the occasional PBS documentary.
That's why medlogs are interesting and important.
</medblogs sales pitch>
