Story Analytics

I just realized that in all my previous posts thanking Vancouver bloggers, my sponsors and supporters and the guest posters, I didn’t really mention the Blogathon.org folks – the people behind the annual Blogathon event and who first came up with the idea of blogging for 24 hours for a cause. It’s an amazing thing they have started as the event continues to grow in strength each year. So, thank you Blogathon, and we’ll meet again next year!

My final pledge count for the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association stands at approximately $335 CAD (factoring in some $USD contributions as well), thanks to all my sponsors.

(Update: My audiologist, Dr Victoria Lee from my local area branch of Island Hearing Services who was on vacation just found out about the blogathon, thanked me for campaigning for hearing loss awareness in my blog, and has sponsored my cause as well. Thank you Dr Lee! )

But more importantly, I would consider my blogathon effort a success if:

• Someone who knew a hard of hearing person read this and encouraged them to connect with a local hard of hearing  community in their area (for instance, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association and Hearing Loss Association of America) where they can find the support they need.

• The awareness of hard of hearing people and their needs is increased even if by a little bit. For example, that:
  

  	- Not all fire-alarms may be audible to all hearing aid users, as I once discovered a few years ago.
  	- Just because one wears hearing aids doesn’t mean that they can hear everything being said, unlike with glasses that restore 20/20 vision.
  	- That not all hard of hearing or deaf people wear hearing aids visible for everyone to see. Not knowing that I was hard of hearing and assuming that I wasn’t paying attention, I’ve been asked, although without any ill-intention, “Are you deaf?  “No, but I’m hard of hearing”.
  	- If you’re hard of hearing, you’re not alone. About 13% of the people suffer from a certain degree of hearing loss. However, that should not in any way prevent you from realizing your potential as seen from the stories of a number of CHHA and HLAA members.

• Reading some of my posts has piqued interest in the IT Business Analysis profession and certification to anyone, or simply encouraged some thought-provoking discussions.

• And finally, if I have been able to forge connections (I know I have), and if it helped some amazing people I have interacted with connect with each other as well.

A number of my online connections including writers, bloggers, IT professionals, members of CHHA, HLAA and so on have happened through networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ning, Protagonize, Meetup etc.

I’ve only recently started blogging and intend to continue the momentum gained through blogathon and use my blog as a medium to share what I’ve learned, write in an attempt to raise awareness for what I believe in, and learn in the process.

Blogathon 2009 may be over, but my blogging has just begun.

Happy blogging and reading everyone!