Caregiver Village online community new approach to caregiver outreach

I'm one of the 60 million caregivers in the United States that spends a significant portion of my day caring for  a family member with chronic medical problems - in my case a Vietnam veteran with PTSD and medical complications resulting from exposure to Agent Orange.  After more than 40 years of this responsibility, caregiving is simply ingrained in my daily life and I have learned to cope with the stresses it creates by engaging in cultural enrichment through my study of the ancient world and by focusing on my writing and digital photography activities in my spare time.

But, as a retired technology professional, I also try to keep up with new uses of technology, especially for educational purposes so was intrigued to see that health care and counseling professionals along with a team of technology developers have reached out to family caregivers through a new online social network community called Caregiver Village.  In Caregiver Village, members who subscribe to the service for $4.95 per month (they do offer a free 30 day trial) can play an ongoing Sims-like mystery game called the "Village Chronicles".  Each episode offers players a chance to learn better self-care, stress management skills and positive attitudes while solving puzzles and earning achievements as they explore an episodic mystery surrounding a caregiving situation.

Members can also join book club discussion groups led by authors who have written books about caregiving for a variety of conditions and access resources for dealing with ADD/ADHD, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, autism, cancer, depression, diabetes, general aging, general caregiving needs, heart disease, mental and developmental delays, mental/emotional illness, Parkinson’s, physical disabilities, stroke, surgery, injury or wounds, and war-related injuries and are encouraged to share their own experiences through personal journals and interacting with other community members.

"People connect based on common needs and interests in a place that becomes their own village of support and encouragement," say site developers.  "Family caregivers are exhausted, stressed to the point of illness and frustrated by their isolation.Caregiver Village’s virtual village creates a close knit community where caregivers can discover a sense of deep personal satisfaction – and escape – from the hard, intense work of family caregiving; while simultaneously learning how to handle their stress and building online connections with people in exactly the same situation as them."

 So, if you have found yourself in a long-term caregiving role and would like to meet and interact with others in a similar situation, check out Caregiver Village.

Related articles

• Montana State University Professor Launches Website to Help Veterans With PTSD (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
• Caregiving may have benefits...for the Caregiver (aarp.org)

Marvel Online Comic Creator Needs to Integrate Virtual Assets!

Yesterday, I learned about Marvel's Online Comic Creator from fellow blogger Candlelight Stories. I developed a prototype with a similar concept using Filemaker Pro and its instant web publishing capabilities about five years ago using pictures I downloaded from HBO's "Rome" website in combination with backgrounds I captured from various ancient world-themed adventure games. So, naturally I had to try Marvel's out. I loved it and the Flash or Java? interface would let you layer objects and arrange them (including front to back) which I couldn't do with Filemaker through the instant web interface. The overall concept was very similar though.

In my version I let user's pick the dialog template that varied by numbers of speech balloons and positions, the character(s) and the background. They could then input the desired words they wished their characters to say. Then I used a Filemaker script to "playback" their comic by changing from one layout to the next. My prototype let users create up to a five window comic (or "graphic novel" if you prefer). Marvel has a short three window version and, for really talented writers, a 22-pane full comic book version.

I think this tool would be even better if users could upload additional backgrounds, objects (Marvel's version has objects you can add to a scene like a telephone, etc.) and characters, although I understand why Marvel would prefer to limit the tool to Marvel superheroes. I would have also liked more dialog balloon options, especially those with the arrow beneath the balloon. There were only a couple like that.

Today I also read an article about the surging market in virtual goods. Marvel's application would be a prime candidate for the integration of virtual goods. Marvel could offer theme-based backgrounds, character and object packages for a small fee. People would be more willing to purchase virtual goods, though, if they could share their creativity with others. Marvel's download function does not seem to save a file in a common format like .jpg. Some of the other flash-based products out there have also integrated social networking tools so user-generated toons can be posted to Facebook or linked to a tweet.

As for usability, though, I think the limited but intuitive tools the Marvel software provides makes it a snap to quickly create a toon to convey a thought or an emotion. Other more feature-rich products enable those who want to truly spend hours creating an artistic panel a lot of options but many of us just want to punch out a quick toon with a message using characters we like from favorite movies, comics, or legends. The Marvel tool, although targeted at children, fills the bill quite nicely.