RNYTalk Contest & Newsletter 05/02/2012

[Alex Brecher 10,512]

RNYTalk News

This is it! We’re launching our RNYTalk News, a regular newsletter to keep you up to date on our community. We’ll tell you all about our exciting new features, programs and anything else you need and want to know about RNYTalk.com. Our goal is to make sure you know everything

This is the first edition of RNYTalk News, and we have a lot to talk about. In this edition, you’ll find information on:

• The launch of the RNYTalk apps for Apple and Android devices (and a free iPod contest, of course!)
  
• Creating your own RNYTalk.com patient profile
  
• Social and support groups on RNYTalk.com
  
• How to contact a local real-life surgeon on RNYTalk.com
  

And more!

I want to thank each and every one of you for your participation and support, and I encourage your feedback and comments. Together, we’re moving toward a healthier future!

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder

RNYTalk.com Apps Have Launched!

Now take RNYTalk.com with you wherever you go. The fully functional RNYTalk Android and RNYTalk iPhone, iPad and iPod apps are both free. They let you track your favorite threads, post to the forums, private message your buddies and upload photos using your mobile device. Now you never have to feel alone because you can carry the support and information you need.

You can access and download them directly to your smartphone, so why wouldn’t you get your app today?

We’re Giving Away a New iPod Touch!

To Celebrate the release of our Mobile apps, we’re giving away a brand-new iPod Touch. It’s a drawing, but we want to reward our active posters, referrers, bloggers, members with completed profiles and new members. The more you participate in RNYTalk.com, the better chance you have of winning. Here’s how it works.

Eligibility and Chances of Winning

• Forum members must make at least one post in any forum on RNYTalk during the contest period of 30 days from your receipt of this newsletter.
  
• Members must have a completed patient profile.
  
• You can increase your chances of winning by making more forum and blog posts, uploading more photos and referring members.
  

At the end of the contest period, one of the forum administrators will find all of the eligible forum members – remember, you have to make at least one post and have a completed Roux en-Y profile. We’ll make a big spreadsheet with the Username of each member who is eligible, and assign points based on your activities. The more points you have, the better your chances of getting the iPod!

Point Structure

• 1 point: each forum post and each uploaded photo
  
• 2 points: each forum post from our mobile apps and each blog post
  
• 5 points: join a group
  
• 10 Points: complete My Surgery, My Surgeon or My Roux en-Y Story; upload before and/or after photos
  
• 20 points for each successful forum referral; and
  
• 40 points for a fully completed patient profile
  

Get Involved Again

If you’re an old-timer who hasn’t been around much, this contest is a great opportunity to bring you back to the boards. You have tons of experience and advice to share with newer Roux en-Y patients. If you’ve fallen off the wagon, don’t be shy. It’s never too late to get back on, and we’re here to give you the support and confidence you need for success in your lifestyle goals.

Some Reminders and New Features

Create or update your own Roux en-Y Patient profile. Your information encourages other members and helps you connect with members that have your same interests and struggles. It also gets you 40 points for our iPod Touch giveaway.

We've recently updated our surgeon database; now, every bariatric surgeon in the world is included. Check it out and find a local surgeon who can help you. You can locate and read reviews on Roux en-Y surgeons to help you choose an expert for your care.

Our social and support groups are up and running. We know that you all have special interests and identities, and our social and support groups provide more specialized platforms than our general community. Just of the few types of groups we have are

• Regional groups of people from your city or state.
  
• Surgery Buddy groups with people who got the Roux en-Y at the same time as you.
  
• Medical Condition groups with people with a particular condition, such as PCOS
  
• Eating Support groups with people who struggle with eating issues, such as emotional eating
  

Check them out and join one or start your own.

Be a Good Friend

Be sure to mention RNYTalk.com as a source of support and information for any your friends, family members or associates who are considering Roux en-Y surgery or have had it. Also, don’t forget that RNYTalk.com is a member of the WLSBoards.com network. Recommend our other three communities to anyone you know who needs them, and please stop on by and introduce yourself if you have had a weight loss surgery revision.

• LapBandTalk.com for LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Band
  
• VerticalSleeveTalk.com for Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
  
• SleevePlicationTalk.com for Gastric Sleeve Plication
  

We Need Your Help

When you come here, you can depend on support, encouragement, sympathetic ears and expert advice from surgeons. But we need you to let community be able to continue grow stronger! Over the years, I’ve found that many bariatric surgeons and their staff don’t even know we’re here. Help us out by asking your surgeon to hang a couple of fliers in the clinic. They can go the waiting room bulletin board, at the reception desk and in patient consultation rooms.

I’ve even gotten the fliers ready for you in color and black-and-white options. Print them out and bring them to your next appointment, or email them to the office.

So please, support us and ask your surgeon to post these fliers in their office and hand them out to their patients. It helps you out because our community will benefit from more patients and surgeons with valuable advice. Remind your surgeon and clinic staff that it helps them out because it gives them more exposure to patients.

Stay in Touch

Feedback forum - we're always open to members ideas and feedback. Please use our feedback forum to let us know how we’re doing and send us your ideas on what you’d like to see at RNYTalk.com. We always want to know what you’re thinking and how we can improve!

We're now on Facebook and on Twitter. Like us and follow us to keep track of what's going on in our communities and show your support!

Don’t forget to support and celebrate! Our upcoming surgeries list tells you which members are about to get their bariatric surgery, so stop by and wish them luck! Come by the surgery anniversary list to congratulate members when they hit their annual anniversaries of their surgeries. Your name will be automatically entered onto the right list as soon as you update your patient profile.

Coming Soon…

We're releasing customizable health trackers and tickers within the next 90 days. We'll include more info in future newsletters, so stay tuned for information on those and the other latest happenings around RNYTalk.com.

Thanks for reading, and talk to you soon!

Sincerely,

Alex

[brokenpinkwings 0]

How do you refer people? Just have them add and download this app or is there something we can use through the app? Thanks!

[Alex Brecher 10,512]

How do you refer people? Just have them add and download this app or is there something we can use through the app? Thanks!

This isn't a feature that's available from our app as of yet. If you're logged in on our web site, you can click here to visit our referral system. You can use a link to refer people, you can invite members and members can enter your username during signup if they come through our site.

[TinyMamiOf3kids 1,280]

If you need a helper in the future I'm your girl LMFAO I'll run the site.

[Alex Brecher 10,512]

If you need a helper in the future I'm your girl LMFAO I'll run the site.

Thank you very much for your offer. We can use all the help we can get! A great way to start off assisting, would be by greeting new members and responding to unanswered posts. I'll let you know if and when we start requiring official site moderators.

[KevinsBabyGirl85 364]

Omg that's so awesome!!!

[KevinsBabyGirl85 364]

I would love to help as much as possible too!!

[eglean2 24]

Where can we track points? I see on the website the list of leaders but I'm not even listed

[TinyMamiOf3kids 1,280]

Cool

[Alex Brecher 10,512]

Where can we track points? I see on the website the list of leaders but I'm not even listed

You can't technically track the points. We have a script that we run against our member database that will output this info to Excel. In the future we hope to have this feature built right in to the site.

[KevinsBabyGirl85 364]

Where can we track points? I see on the website the list of leaders but I'm not even listed

Where is the list at? I can't find it!! Thank you!!

Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

[eglean2 24]

I happened across it last night online. Not from the app. You are the leader thus far! It's on the right hand side of the forum page.

[KevinsBabyGirl85 364]

Ok thanks so much!!!

Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk