Posts filed under 'Uncategorized'
Lost in Space
An estimated 35,000 blogs exist about cancer, according to Seattle PI Reporter Charie Black. I don’t know where she got her numbers, but I agree they are really big. Like the bookworm that I am, I’ve been trying to read them all, which is an impossible task for one person.
What does the community of cancer bloggers have to do with Sharinghope.tv? I’m still trying to figure that out. The last thing I want to do is spam prolific cancer bloggers (or bloggers who happen to have cancer), as it is clear from reading their blogs that they are constantly getting spammed already. In fact, this blog gets spammed by people selling “cures.” Ugh.
Jeanne Slather, of the Assertive Cancer patient writes frequently about the emails she receives asking her to promote one event or another, or to blog for free . She is far from alone in her frustration.
I don’t want to be a spammer, but I am interested in getting the word about SharingHope.tv. Currently, the site looks more ACS than community, but though ACS launched it, they really are stepping back to let the community take over. But, as a non-profit, they don’t have the budget to hire community managers to foster its growth.
As a volunteer, I’d love to get feedback – positive or negative – to pass along to the people at ACS who concieved the site, built it, and are maintaining it. Not exactly sure how to do that.
Add comment August 22, 2008
A Note to WordPress Users about Embedding SharingHope.tv Videos
If you’ve tried embedding your SharingHope.tv videos into a free WordPress blog, you’ve probably gotten a SharingHope.tv frame, but no video. There is a fix. Vodpod is a free service that makes it easy for you share and embed videos across a variety of video-sharing sites. The site allows you to install a button to your browser window, so that whenever you come across a video you’d like to share on your blog, you click the button and it will automatically post the video to your blog with text and a title of your choosing. If you need more help, Vodpod has a great FAQ page.
submitted by sharinghope.tv member, Mississippi
Tips: Once you use vodpod to post, you can go back and edit your WordPress post with links and tags. It works well to link to your actual SharingHope.tv video page in the body of your post, as your video will not have the colorful SharingHope.tv box surrounding it. Someday, we’ll find a way to put the box back, but in the meantime, it’s important to us that you are able to share your SharingHope.tv videos with the rest of the online cancer community.
If you aren’t a WordPress user, but share and use video across a number of video sites (sharinghope.tv, youtube, etc.) , you might also find Vodpod a useful way to keep track.
According to Vodpod, there are over 5000 video sharing sites on the Internet! They’ve published their top 100 most popular sharing sites. Let’s put SharingHope.tv on their next list of the top 100 video sharing websites!
2 comments August 18, 2008
Relay Ceremonies Rival Beijing
Okay, so I’m kidding. Maybe this performance isn’t up to 2008 Olympic standards, but these folks at the Saline County Relay in Salina, Kansas are having fun and raising money for cancer research. Their efforts are as good as gold!
Add comment August 10, 2008
Pardon our Virtual Dust
SharingHope.tv is having some problems with registration at this time. Please pardon our dust! At this point, you should be able to get on the site and upload video.
Add comment August 5, 2008
Cancer survivor singlespeeds for healing, and encourages others to do same
So, I’m outta shape. I’ve got three kids and not a whole lot of time on my hands, hate gyms, and… oh… a billion other excuses. Looking at this video by 1speeder, I suddenly crave a bike, a pebbled, snow-dusted path, and a meandering afternoon. (Of course, I’d need better leg muscles too, but dream with me please.) 1speeder says his goal is to inspire other cancer survivors to ride, since he credits singlespeeding with helping him through a chemo resistant form of Hodgkins Lymphoma. This video takes place just 95 days after his bone-marrow transplant!
I know many of you are sharing hope on personal blogs and sites like YouTube. Please remember that you can keep the accounts you already have AND upload to SharingHope.tv too. It’s an extra step, but it will bring your inspiring words, photos, and video directly to the people in the cancer community who need the encouragement. If you have any questions, please see the tutorials or comment here.
Add comment July 23, 2008
Sitting with Death and Celebrations of Life
A friend and I were sitting in a coffee shop planning for an upcoming Grandparent’s Day at our kids’ school. I knew she had terminal cancer, but she looked okay, healthy even. As we were about to move on to the topic of invitations, she looked at me and said:
I think about death a lot.
Most of us don’t sit well with death, and I am no exception. When my friend confronted me with the D-word, I squirmed, mumbled something about praying for her, asked what night she wanted me to bring a casserole, then hurriedly wrapped up our meeting. She died a year later.
When I started this blog for SharingHope.tv, I knew sooner or later I’d have to deal with the topic of death. I’m picking sooner because I don’t want readers to get the impression that SharingHope is only about surviving. We all know that no matter how hard people pray or fight or maintain a positive attitude, some still die from cancer.
And many people who die, or are dying, share hope. Like my friend, Peter Attwell, who asked everyone at his memorial service to wear bright, happy colors in celebration of his life. And what a life to celebrate! I know dozens of people who live differently, who love more and give more, because they knew Peter.
I’ve also been reading blogs written by terminal patients and their caretakers who share hope by speaking openly and honestly about subjects most people avoid. How many cancer patients and caretakers now feel less alone because of them? I’m thinking of one mom who told me that doctors wanted to put her on antidepressants because “she didn’t seem sad enough” about her daughter’s cancer, and was obviously having “detachment issues.” In reality, she was a joy-filled person maintaining a positive attitude for her child, but even her doctors thought hope should have its limits.
I’m sure this woman would find comfort in Sarah’s post about wanting to share the joy that is her her son even while he is so sick. She writes:
In the years since my friend died, I’ve replayed our time in that coffee shop over and over. In my new scenario, I listen as she talks of her fears about about missing so much of her daughters’ lives, her choice of music for her memorial service, the scrapbooks she is making for her two girls, and the hope she has for their futures. I. Just. Sit.
I’ve added another category in this blog called Celebrations of Life. It will be dedicated to your stories of deceased loved-ones who shared hope.
1 comment July 14, 2008
Cute Video about Volunteering for ACS
Okay, so the poetry is a bit shaky for this English major (blog and dog as a rhyming couplet?), but some of my co-working friends from Conjunctured donated their time to encourage you to volunteer. Great job Cesar and John Erik! The ACS volunteer phone number is at the end. I can certainly vouch that the American Cancer Society is a fun and productive organization worthy of your time and effort.
Add comment July 9, 2008
List of Bloggers Sharing their Cancer Journeys
Social media is all about individual experiences, therefore the bloggers listed below speak only for themselves and have no affiliation with the American Cancer Society. Think of these individual blogs the same way you do television programs. If you encounter ones you don’t like, simply exit their site.
When you encounter bloggers whose words resonate with you, return often and comment on their sites. Most bloggers really appreciate feedback. When you comment, you become a member of that blogger’s community, and maybe even make some friends in the process.
Blogroll
Please keep checking. The list is coming as soon as I start transferring it from my very old-school Excel spreadsheet.
Add comment July 9, 2008
Thanks Omar!
I really enjoyed meeting Omar L. Gallaga of the Austin American Statesman at SXSW this year. Since then, I’ve been a regular reader of his Digital Savant blog on Austin360.com, which helps bolster my tech knowledge tremendously. Now I can at least pretend to be a computer geek. : )
Check out Omar’s curent post about the SharingHope.tv Relay for life contest.
Add comment June 25, 2008