Weare.us - Social Support Networks

Social networks often revolve around maintaining existing friendships, but offer little meaningful connection beyond that. WeAre.Us attempts to connect individuals in order to create a social support network. The website, which is actually a platform for a handful of smaller social networks, primarily connects people afflicted with a common disease (there are networks devoted to individuals affected by HIV, Huntington’s disease, and cancer, among others). The site also hosts networks for Red Sox fans and individuals of multicultural descent. Through blog entries, forums, and groups, members encourage and lament with each other, share stories, and give advice.

“WeAre.Us is a platform and a network of sites providing Social Support Networks by which those with similar interests, conditions, and visions can communicate, collaborate, share information and experiences and form communities. On WeAre.Us sites, you can share the wealth of their experience and plan for the future with those like you. Find others with similar interests and goals.”

WeAre.Us is a valuable resource for creating a meaningful community around disease. One particularly touching example was a woman, afflicted with Huntington’s disease, was having a “bad day,” but did not want her family, and especially her children, to see her down. She was able to turn to her blog, where she received encouragement and sympathy from others that have been in her same position. WeAre.Us plays a role in the social and emotional well-being of its community members.

Would links to official sites and informational web pages be a good addition?