Social Networking Website for Cerebral Palsy Population

Menachem Rosenbaum and Danny Levy aim to nullify social isolation associated with cerebral palsy (CP) by creating Cerebral Palsy Social, a social networking website geared towards the CP population. Cerebral palsy, a neurological disability, affects body movement and muscle coordination. The physical difficulty cerebral palsy causes can take an emotional toll. You feel like you can't relate to other people. Rosenbaum and Levy look to change this with Cerebral Palsy Social. They explain "We felt it's important that there be a single site which enables the CP community to mingle online without being a subgroup within a more established mainline platform like Facebook, Twitter, etc." Rosenbaum serves as the social networking website's webmaster while Levy oversees Cerebral Palsy Social as Project Operator.

The Launch
Cerebral Palsy Social launched in early 2009 but struggles to thrive. To date over 400 people registered accounts with the social networking website but most users remain inactive. Rosenbaum and Levy explained the reason for the slow start involves the website's low budget. With a low budget Rosenbaum and Levy can't afford to run an advertising campaign, leaving individuals to stumble upon Cerebral Palsy Social on their own. Once an individual registers the trouble becomes keeping him active, as the website's minimal activity doesn't give members many reasons to login regularly. When asked if the slow start decreased their interest in the social networking website the two reemphasized their enthusiasm for Cerebral Palsy Social before adding "the system works and is here to stay."

Features
You will find many of the same social media features from other social networking websites on Cerebral Palsy Social, including the ability to send other users private messages, set status updates, and write blog posts. Users can use these tools to discuss any CP-related topic, such as medications and new assistant technologies. Rosenbaum and Levy hope to add an instant messaging system and/or video communication system as well.

Purpose
The young social networking website looks to provide a supportive environment through facilitating interaction between individuals in the cerebral palsy community. Rosenbaum and Levy define the CP community as "people who have it, their family, caregivers, or even friends who feel closely enough associated who feel they have something to contribute." When asked if they see the website as a place for dating, the two responded "We have not defined 'interacting' because it's not our place or intent to do so. We would be delighted and would feel deeply rewarded if meaningful relationships could be generated through this site."