wisdom of crowds | Highlight HEALTH

I’ve written previously about my desire to explore the use of web 2.0 in health and medicine. Two months ago, I created a page on the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory to index articles that discuss web 2.0 in health, fitness and medicine.

… Then I realized my mistake.

No blog. No RSS. Why was I writing articles on web 2.0 and not using the tools?

I alluded to this issue when I introduced The Highlight HEALTH Network, an aggregation of feeds from Highlight HEALTH and the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory.

Accordingly, I’m pleased to present Highlight HEALTH 2.0, a blog focused on following web 2.0 in health and medicine, hosted at the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory. My intention is to develop an article resource discussing social networks and health, and to catalog a series of reviews written by myself and guest writers, describing various health-focused social networks and what they have to offer. Since I believe health-focused social networks can affect patients the same as real-life social networks, offering the information as an additional resource to a web directory of quality health-related websites seemed appropriate.

YouTube as a health resource

Sunday, I published a new article on Highlight HEALTH 2.0 titled YouTube as a Source of Health Misinformation. The article describes a recent study examining “The Wisdom of Crowds” by evaluating YouTube as a source of information on immunization. Readers subscribed to the Highlight HEALTH Network will have already seen the article, since the website’s RSS feed is now included in the network.

If you haven’t already subscribed, why not subscribe by email or RSS? You can stay up-to-date with the latest articles on Highlight HEALTH and Highlight HEALTH 2.0, as well as the latest additions to the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory, all from a single source … The Highlight HEALTH Network.

In the spirit of web 2.0 and collaboration, I’m also looking for guest writers who are interested in writing an article on web 2.0 in health and medicine or a review of a social health network. A number of people have already expressed their interest in collaborating and I look forward to their articles and insights.

How about you?

This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to a new audience, share your thoughts and insights, and promote your own site. I’ll treat each review as a guest post, with links back to your blog or website. I’ll also be writing about the articles and reviews here at Highlight HEALTH. Please email me if you’d like to be involved.

Additional resources related to web 2.0 in health and medicine can be found in the following Highlight HEALTH Web Directory categories: Health 2.0, Medicine 2.0, Fitness 2.0, Health Search and Weblogs.

I’ve been increasingly interested in health-focused social networks. Why? Because several recent scientific studies have found that real-life social networks are quite relevant to health. Indeed, a study published earlier this year in the New England Journal of Medicine evaluated a large social network of over 12,000 people over 32 years to assess the person-to-person spread of obesity [1]. The study results suggest that friends, siblings and spouses have an even greater effect on a person’s risk of obesity than genetics.

What’s interesting is that this type of research is being done now, when the use of web 2.0 services facilitating collaboration and sharing between users on the internet is thriving. We’re witnessing an explosion of social networking sites, many of which are focused on health.

Social Networks and Health

I’ve published an article titled Social Networks and Health over at the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory. It describes some of the recent scientific studies on social networks and health, and discusses web 2.0 in healthcare and medicine.

More and more websites are tapping into the “wisdom of crowds” to collect health information and give advice. I believe these online social networks affect patients in much the same way as real-life social networks. Some 9.9 million consumers, in addition to reading weblogs, regularly post health information online and learn from each other [2]. People are clearly using these tools, and it’s my intention over the coming months to write a series of review articles describing the websites, what they have to offer and how they can affect your health. Check out Social Networks and Health for more information.

But what good are the reviews if we don’t understand the concepts? Several prominent bloggers will be guest posting and introduce us to Health 2.0, Fitness 2.0 and Medicine 2.0. I’ve created a page on the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory to index articles that discuss Web 2.0 in Health, Fitness and Medicine. I’ll post updates there when new content is added. You can navigate to it using the left-most grey menu button “Health and Medicine 2.0” at the top of every page on the directory.

In the spirit of web 2.0 and collaboration, I’m also looking for guest writers who are interested in writing a review of a social health network. Is there a specific site you visit regularly? Tell us about it in a review. This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to a new audience and to share your thoughts and insights. I’ll treat each review as a guest post, with links back to your blog or website. I’ll also be writing about the reviews here at Highlight HEALTH.

Additional resources related to web 2.0 and health can be found in the following Highlight HEALTH Web Directory categories: Health 2.0, Medicine 2.0, Fitness 2.0, Health Search and Weblogs.

UPDATE: Instead of a page to index articles, I’ve started a blog, Highlight HEALTH 2.0, which is hosted at the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory. You can read more about it here.