Making 3FC work for you!
So, I *am* studying at the moment, but I came across a particular study and thought I’d share it with you guys.
Clare et al. (2008) investigated group identification and well-being in people with early stage dementia. They had 7 participants, and the study was longitudinal, which means participants had “follow ups” over a course of two years. The study was based on interviews with these participants.
The first interview took place at the onset of dementia and the second after participants had become active members of an internet based self-help and mutual support network. Clare et al. (2008) found that participants had gained a sense of group identity, of mutual support and collective strength, self-respect and satisfaction with life.
Now I know this isn’t an online support network for dementia. But it is an online support network where we, as people trying to lose weight and get in shape, can share our thoughts and worries, our failures and successes. The most important word in that study? ACTIVE. Be an ACTIVE member, read blogs, comment on blogs - share your own experiences and support. In doing so, you become a known member of the community but you also get the chance to see that everyone falls down sometimes, that you are not alone.
So I am going to try and be an active member of 3FC blogs. I want to gain all the things the participants in Clare et al.’s study did, and I just wanted to share with you, in case you want to gain them too.
Hey that’s a pretty cool (and interesting) analogy to what we have here. It’s true, the active participation in this community helps on so many levels.
By the way, you asked a question in my blog the other day. I wasn’t sure if you’d come back to see my answer, so I came to you. =D
How did I put a picture in the right column of my blog?
- I clicked in Site Admin and then clicked where it said the word “widgets”
- I added a text widget
- I created a little blurb of words (Welcome to my blog) and pictures (the couch and my website logo) in FrontPage, which I happen to have, and then I copied the HTML code into the text widget (manually since I couldn’t “paste” there.
- If you don’t have FrontPage or some other HTML program, here’s the code I used for mine, which you could copy for whatever words and/or pictures you wanted to add to yours:
Welcome to my blog.
Kick off your shoes,
help yourself to some coffee
(I’ve got both regular and decaf),
and curl up on my couch.
You’re always welcome
to stay and read a while.
Anyway, that’s enough to give you the general format. Good luck with it!!
LOL instead of showing you the code, it DID the code - except for the pictures, which apparently you can’t post pictures in a comment.
Okay, I’m going to add the word ECHO to the beginning of each line of code, which hopefully will prevent the code from actually DOING the code. Just ignore the ECHOs and type the code in your text widget, using your own picture URLs and wording.
ECHO Welcome to my blog.
ECHO
ECHO
ECHO Kick off your shoes,
ECHO help yourself to some coffee
ECHO (I’ve got both regular and decaf),
ECHO and curl up on my couch.
ECHO You’re always welcome
ECHO to stay and read a while.
I hope this works!!
Nope, that didn’t work!! I can’t post the code HERE, that’s for sure. Okay, I have another idea.
I do have a website, after all.
I posted the wording for the HTML code in a webpage on my website:
http://www.w8challenge.com/widget.htm
Okay, good luck!!
By the way, that website is where a bunch of us 3fc bloggers participate in this monthly competition - and it helps us to stay on track for food and exercise - AND it’s yet another way that we network with each other!
A new challenge just started on May 1st, you’re welcome to join us!
I loved this post!!
It’s so true. I find just having one or two people commenting on my posts and making the effort to comment on other’s posts really helps me feel connected.
When I don’t do my best, I feel as though my bad vibes will bring other’s down. Almost like a group mentality or a team.
This was very interesting. Got my wheels turning.
Thanks and keep it up!
I second the w8challenge. I love it mostly for the tally of what I’ve done. It encourages me to do 15 min more and to eat better more often to round up to that next star.
I like this post. It’s very true. Like I said to someone recently, my success so far is mostly due to blogging and regular exercise. Thanks for sharing!