If you found this site by searching for help with your eyesight, you’re in good company.  Most everybody who visits here did it the same way.  Welcome, to you.  ;)

It’s less word of mouth, because most people don’t really care about health issues that can be remedied with a quick and easy fix (glasses, FTW).  It’s less advertising, since your darling host of-this-show is a bit phobic of large crowds, and low barriers of entry.  It’s less referral type traffic, because I’m also a wee bit antisocial and not great about e-mail follow-up.

So at this moment, when you find @endmyopia, it’s a nice, clean, simple proposition.  Not much controversy. 

That will change though, sooner or later.  Right now what keeps things so calm and friendly is the excellent filter that exists in the form of this resource only being found by those who are specifically looking for it.  If you aren’t trying to get answers about myopia, you won’t hear about @endmyopia.

This, a great natural troll filter. 

Anytime I move past this level, there’s an immediate influx of antagonism, troll-ism, and general negativity.  Take a look at this tiny Facebook ad (only shown to those who previously visited here, and at a tiny rate at that):

idiotoptometrist

Hoax!  (original Facebook post here)

The ad had only been running for a short period of time, meant to remind previous visitors about the myopia topic (only shown to previous visitors of @endmyopia).  A few people reached at that moment, and one comment.  One, troll-ey, comment.

Ready to make a quick guess what Todd does for a living?

I’m not making this up, either.  You know what I wanted you to guess.  Optometrist.  Right? 

todd-visionworks

Visionworks.  Big, corporate lens-sales chain.

Exactly.  It’s actually true.  Todd is an optometrist.  Nice boat, Todd.

And this goes right back to why I in turn used to make fun of the old-timey 16th century “medicine” hawking lens sellers, because they’d always come out swinging against anybody wanting change.  Buy nice toys, not ask too many questions, keep selling those lenses.  They wouldn’t take a moment to look at science and facts, or even my own first hand experience reversing my own myopia.  I’d be standing in actual optometrist offices, with my own prescription history in hand, and they’d still tell me that I’m just making it up.  It was maddening!

Btw, if you want to share your own thoughts about being able to make informed choices about your vision health, do feel free to comment on the Facebook post:  https://www.facebook.com/endmyopia/posts/588386774649467?comment_id=590106641144147&reply_comment_id=590391084449036&ref=notif&notif_t=share_comment

There are exceptions to the lens sales motivation, and Despina in particular convinced me that being nice will get us further than making fun of the whole genre.  There is always that one in a hundred optometrist individual who has a brain, likes science, and always kind of wondered why that first prescription always means increased prescriptions later on. 

We do need to have an open door and not scare off that one in a hundred.

UPDATE:  Optometrist deletes all his comments, runs off with tail between his legs.  Proud of you kittehs, for keeping it civil, but also telling these fools what’s what.  Great work.  :)

Cheers,

-Jake