Look, technology online has its place. But if you’re building a content-specific site (and trying to change an entire industry in the process!), you’d better put the technology on the back burner and really understand the pain points and how your solution is going to address them and fill a need in the marketplace.

The original concept and idea of Revolution was high-minded. The implementation of that idea was very much a waste of $100 or $150 million in investors’ money, largely for syndicated content on a slick, but virtually useless, platform. They brought almost nothing new to the game and did little to understand the market they were trying to reach (until it was far too late).

Initially Case was driven by his family’s experiences during the illness and eventual death of his brother from cancer – his brother and his family experienced the same difficult journey throughout the patient experience as do many, feeling helpless, unprepared, and sometimes irrelevant during the process.

Why not create a Web site, and corresponding e-business to support the needs of patients and their families?

Well, sadly Revolution Health became just another information-only Health and Wellness Web site with extensive advertising, and a user experience out of the late 1990′s – lots of information, but still very “flat.” Very little information for users to personalize, to make contextual, or to apply to their unique patient experience in a meaningful way.

As a patient, advocate, family member, caregiver, I want my e-world experience to be more than an information-only experience. I’ll return to a site that continues to educate, while offering information and tools in a way that teaches me how to personalize the information to meet my unique heath care needs, show me how to engage with my providers, to dialog, to advocate for myself, and manage my health successfully.

Sorry to hear about Revolution Health though – we need more successful efforts in the business of e-patient/consumer education.

Really important question. We’re right here on the frontier, in a sense. What makes the difference in a site that makes it and one that doesn’t?

The problem with Revolution Health, the way I see it, is that they didn’t manage to create an atmosphere that was compelling for patients / visitors to keep coming back. Even less so after reading this.

Also, speaking as another person who’s committed to creating the new world, I hear your frustration at having tried for (at least) a decade to bring it into existence, apparently seeing it all perverted into personal gain schemes. I don’t mind personal gain, but I want it to be aligned with creation of great works.

Just my opinion as one noisy blogger.