A Conversation with Manny Hernandez: Founder of TuDiabetes Social Networking Site

Manny Hernandez: Founder of TuDiabetes Social Networking Site Manny Hernandez is the 35-year-old founder of TuDiabetes, a social network for people affected by diabetes. TuDiabetes--meaning "your diabetes" in Spanish, Manny's native language--began in March 2007 and currently has more than 15,000 members from around the world. Diagnosed with diabetes in late 2002, Manny was initially presumed to have type 2 diabetes because of his age, but several months later was finally diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In addition to TuDiabetes, Manny also writes the column "Hola Diabetes" for dLife, which is aimed at the Latino community. Manny was born in Venezuela and lives in Palo Alto, California, with his wife and son.

Q. Tell us about your diagnosis. What was it like being diagnosed as an adult?

A. I freaked out initially. Diabetes, like any other disease, sounds like something that is not going to affect you until it does. I think my denial period was short, but it still took me a long time to take things in a "natural" way, if that is ever possible with diabetes. I was diagnosed by pure luck, because I went for a physical, which I had the habit of, from my first job. The doctor found that my fasting blood glucose was too elevated. He put me on a diet and that seemed to help for a bit, but the sugars crept up again.

I was initially given the type 2 diagnosis by my doctor. My first reaction was to jump online and do research. Eventually reality was brought to the surface, which was that my oral medications combined with my diet and my average daily activity was not enough to compensate for my rising blood sugars. I was referred to an endocrinologist. [That doctor] officially diagnosed me as type 1, when he found a "sea" of antibodies doing their job on my pancreas. About then I became fully aware of the difference between the two conditions. It had been months! He first put me on Lantus alone, which did the trick for many months until after I moved to Florida.

In July 2003, my family and I moved to Orlando. Before the end of the year I was on a combination of Lantus and Novolog. In August 2005, I started on the Minimed Paradigm 515 insulin pump.

Q. What inspired you to start TuDiabetes?

A. TuDiabetes was the result of a combination of many factors. Having diabetes obviously was one of them. Also, having read the book "The World Is Flat" by Thomas Freedman gave me the idea in 2006 to take the concept of social networks (at a time when MySpace was already huge and Facebook was on its way to becoming what it is today) into something at the service of a greater cause. It wasn't until I read a story about discrimination against diabetics in The New York Times that I connected all the dots and realized that my calling was to create a social network for people touched by diabetes.

The idea was to include everyone: type 1's, type 2's, and "type 3's" (phrase coined for family members of those with diabetes). Today, I am happy to see the result we've accomplished so far. Yet, there is so much more to be done, with so many millions of people with diabetes in the world. My vision is that one day there will be no person with diabetes who feels alone.

Q. Did you think TuDiabetes would have such a positive reaction when you started it?

A. Not in a million years. I imagined there was opportunity for this type of network, but I never envisioned it being embraced by so many so quickly. I keep getting surprised.

Q. Why do you think someone should join the social network? What can someone expect when they join?

A. I think the social network offers its members a unique way in which to connect with other people with diabetes. Besides the traditional discussion board format that many Internet users are accustomed to, TuDiabetes (and EsTuDiabetes.com for Spanish users) offers a platform that allows users to also blog, share their photos and videos, leave comments on profile pages and join interest/regional groups. In other words, it allows members to connect with each other on many different levels: at the global level or sharing something more specific, such as being a parent with a child that has type 1 diabetes, or a young professional that lives with diabetes.

Besides this, TuDiabetes specifically has turned into a very special and positive space, where people almost literally within minutes of joining are welcomed by other folks. People make friends and quickly feel very comfortable and not alone anymore. This has been very impressive to me, personally. Considering the numbers of people with diabetes in the world, seeing how many new members describe their first experience in TuDiabetes as "the first time they meet others with diabetes" is very humbling and encouraging to me.

Q. Have you heard from any of the members about what they think of TuDiabetes? If so, what have been some of the comments and reactions you've received?

A. Here are quotes that I think represent pretty well the feeling of [some of the] groups:

"Diabetes can be such a lonely disease. Few understand it and relate to it, even though there are so many diabetics in the world. TuDiabetes makes diabetes less lonely." ~ Cara (has type 1 diabetes).

"Even though we had wonderful medical care, a connection to others with the disease on a personal level was missing... TuDiabetes has filled that void, and has made coping with type 1 much easier on our family." ~ Lea (her son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes shortly before she joined the social network).

Q. What are your goals for TuDiabetes in 2008?

A. Above all, I want to make sure we secure sponsorship from one or more companies to allow us to sustain the growth we are witnessing, which is almost 10 percent membership growth every week. This is necessary in order to preserve the kind of experience TuDiabetes members have gotten used to in the past few months. Besides that, I want to continue to develop the Web site to offer useful tools that are aligned with the goal of helping people touched by diabetes connect with each other.

In terms of our membership, I want our international membership, as well as our Spanish site, to continue to develop. In general, I'd expect to see a growth among type 2 diabetics. Currently 48 percent of our members have type 1 diabetes, which we know not to be a reflection of the breakdown of people with diabetes in the general population.

Q. Why do you think having a support network for diabetes is important?

A. Mostly because diabetes is a very silent condition. Perhaps because it doesn't show on the outside except in the case of complications or being in the midst of low blood sugar episodes, people often don't talk about it openly. TuDiabetes.com offers its members the opportunity to connect with tons of other folks who "get them"; they can ask questions knowing that they will receive an informative answer and supportive shoulder they can lean on when things don't go as smoothly as they'd like.

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