“Sometimes we don’t realize our neighbors have the most amazing stories,” said Jim Curtis, president of advertising, strategy and operations at Remedy Health, who spent six years as a director at WebMD. “People wanted and needed this.” Visitors to HealthCentral are in “survival mode,” Curtis added.
Other sites that are more like databases or general lifestyle blogs don’t have the same emotional community, according to Curtis. “We provide information they can use to manage an illness they’ve been living with for years in a highly beautiful and engaging format,” he said.
Shared experiences and emotions are driving the new wave of health media