The Search Sheriff
Friday, November 22, 2013 at 4:02PM When I first started blogging and finding sites about diabetes it was pretty easy to navigate. Most of the legitimate sites I knew about from other bloggers and the ones that were silly snake oil salesmen were easy spot. Not so much anymore.
With all the money to be made and the amount of people online, bogus diabetes products and companies pop up pretty often. With all the junk to have to sift through it seems like surfing the web for diabetes is just not a good idea.
You should be aware of a blogger who not only was frustrated with the same issue but did something awesome about it.
Bernard Ferrell is a type 1 blogger and a good friend of mine. Bernard created a customer search engine called Diaboogle. It is a custom Google search engine that filters out all of those snake oil miracle cure sites!
That there is a testament to Bernard’s character and spirit. He sees a need and creates a solution. His passion for helping and caring for others is seen in his blog posts. Bernard is someone who always reaches out to me when I am in need.
Comments he leaves for me are always so genuine and caring. He will send me a direct message if he notices I am acting gloomy. He puts others first and stands up for the little guy.
Bernard has a special place in my heart because years ago I wrote a post about my feet being cold all the time. A simple post in structure but beneath those words were a concern and worry he picked up on. A week or so later a pair of wool slipper socks showed up at my door.
He sent me a postcard apologizing for not being able to make a diabetes conference and I keep it here in my desk. So thoughtful, loving, caring, and supportive. And did I mention his awesome Irish accent?
Long before we met we used to talk about a day in the future when all of us DOC friends would be hanging out together. Meeting Bernard face to face was another dream come true for me. I thank God for his friendship all the time and appreciate all he has done for me and the community.
Have you met Bernard or heard he sweet accent? Share you Bernard love in the comments.
Reader Comments (3)
It's the sweet accent that tricks you though. At conferences people (presenters) think he is all nice, right before he goes in for the kill and "gets" 'em! And I mean that in the nicest way possible!
I LOVE Bernard for the same reasons you do and few of my own. Bernard was the first non-family friend or family member to leave a comment on my blog - Believe it or not, I don't know there was a community called the DOC and Bernard is the one who not only told me about it - but literally showed me how to find it!
He always makes me smile and every now and then a postcard arrives from him and it just makes my day!
Bernard is fantastical! #fact
Maybe about 5 years ago I was dinkng around on my computer and suddenly found myself in an online conversation with Bernard. I didn't think he'd know me from a hole in the wall, but he did. It was very cool indeed.