WildBlueSkies - Trends and strategies in Digital Media

While the rumours about Google making a play for WebMD, may not have been completely accurate, they are indicative of a new trend that is making it’s way to the Internet - that of the health category being among the most highly utilized portions of the Web, while remaining one of the most under-serviced. This in turn is leading to an increasing emphasis in this space by VCs, angels and enterpreneurs.
Take the case of Revolution Health by Steve Case, which targets women with health-related topics, DoctorNDTV, HealthCare.com or other startups such as RateMDs.com, PatientsLikeMe.com, ICYou.com, etc. which are going down the social route. Even the bigger players are swinging into the fray, however with different models - Microsoft’s Health Vault, for instance envisions a future where everyone would have a secure and private Web site containing their personal health information, where doctors could post scans, x-rays, test results and visit information, while a prototype of Google Health, reportedly along the same lines, has been showcased to health professionals and advisers. HealthLine, focuses on health related search results.
Such sites offer intrinsic value to the consumer, (according to a Harris survey, Cyberchondriacs now represent 84 percent of all online adults and 58 percent of people who look online for health information discussed what they found with their doctors in 2006), at the same time, presenting an engaged, highly interested audience to the advertiser. Apart from the obvious audience for pharmaceutical vendors, a person recuperating from an illness could be marketing a movie rental, etc.

Filed under: Digital culture, Trends