the DOC

sometime last month, when i was catching up on tweets, at about 9:30 on a wednesday night, i found some tweets from the few d-bloggers that i was following that had #dsma at the end of their tweets. being relatively new to twitter, i was unsure what it meant. since the posts were diabetes-related, of course i clicked the hashtag out of curiosity, and stumbled into the best online community i've ever found. EVER. you'll see them affectionately referred to on my blog as the DOC (diabetes online community).

i discovered that this hashtag was a part of a weekly discussion and it stood for 'diabetes social media advocacy' (SIMPLE questions, thought provoking responses-strengthening the Diabetes community one tweet at a time). i lurked for a few weeks, just reading the posted questions and people's responses, and slowly built up my list of other PWD (people with diabetes) to follow.

i finally mustered up the courage to participate in the chat, ya know, because i'm so shy [insert sarcasm font], and i feel like i've found an online family that i belong to. we all have a common bond, and it's so nice to have people that really, truly understand exactly what you mean when you tell them about your bg or how you feel, or what foods 'did to you,' or why your site is crappy, among many other things - and they understand you, without having to explain it all means. don't get me wrong, i am all for explaining to non-PWD, i want people to learn and understand instead of just guessing what i am talking about or spreading false information, but sometimes it's nice to have people that can relate that you can instantly get a response from!

for now, i want to thank the following PWD, and tell you i appreciate you. and i sincerely hope that with time, my DOC friendships will grow and expand to include more awesome PWD. and maybe someday i'll have money to go to a conference and meet you IN. PERSON. 

sixuntilme  - the first d-blogger i ever found online a few years ago and followed religiously! she made me less afraid of pregnancy with diabetes ...and, well, she's damn funny. and that little bsparl sure is adorable!

scottkjohnson  - i think we love diet coke equally. and i'm enjoying what i've read of his blog so far!

txtngmypancreas - i enjoy her blog title, and i'm trying to help come up with a logo, because ya know, us d-bloggers need business cards!

4thandLife  - um, we pretty much share a brain. do i need to say more?

diabetesalic - all i can think of is our reaction to toddlers and tiaras. no words.

mydiabeticheart - i'm pretty sure he is the closest (geographically) PWD to me out of the whole group!

LaMerenguera  - aww, i love hearing all the stories about nickel. :) and sometimes wish i was going to dance with her.

Diabetic_Iz_Me - the best chat moderator EVER.

CALpumper - i enjoy her thoughts and hope we share more convos soon!

iamsquee - she's a great dietitian, one of the nice kind who understand what it's like to be diabetic :)


this is just a glimpse into the big community, and i hope that with time my group of online friends continues to grow!!


...and i'll catch up with all the blogs eventually :P