PrettyThin

December 6, 2012

The site was down, and now it's back up. Bandwidth, once again. A few things can be done to reduce bandwidth once again, but with more and more people coming to the site, this is going to be an ongoing problem. I think we're covered for the year, so long as we don't increase in size; you may see the donation button up on the site again.

I know I know....talked about a lot. I found some interesting things on the Googles and just wanted to share. Here is one member's covers for some possible PT Magazines. Can't say I would go that route, but it is inspiring in its own way.

Next week, if you're able, we're trying to get as many people as possible to change their profile pictures on facebook and such to one that's about ED awareness month. Any day next week. Just imagine all of your posts showing the ribbon for one day - now imagine thousands of them. This is for those who want to participate. More to come soon.

What color do you think it should be? What elements should it have? Here are four - submit more if you think another concept better represents eating disorders.

The dark red one has been argued to look too much like the (RED) campaign. I was trying to use the blood red of near burgundy  but see the point. There was a recommendation that it should be purple. I also added the hint of a measuring tape for obvious reasons.

The one on the bottom right is the one I am using on my own Facebook. The top left is the one used on the PrettyThin Facebook Page.

Discuss here, if this is something that matters to you.

December 2, 2011 - 10:10am EST
I receive a lot of stories from members about their journey with an eating disorder. I try to publish them from time to time and hope to publish more during ED Awareness Month. You can check then out in the Stories section of this site. Here is the newest story from one of our members.

December 1, 2011 - 4:53pm EST
Yes, it can. And here is proof, and hopefully some thinspiration.

I hope the picture explains what I did.

(click to enlarge)

Recognize two of those pictures? I put those on this site only last night, and they are at the top of the search. What you contribute can impact the content that appears when people go looking for it. PrettyThin is our platform and our strength together. Let's use it.

Submit content and images to raise awareness around eating disorders and let's own the web of truth about eating disorders.

Submit content to pretty.thin@yahoo.com

Illustrations Wanted

December 1, 2011 - 2:54pm EST

As part of Eating Disorder Awareness Month, I am sharing articles, resources, and stories on the homepage and on our Facebook Page. One common issue within the community is the question of actually having an eating disorder. People come to this site for many reasons, and sharing a commonality is what makes PrettyThin a hope for so many people.

Here is a simple test that will help you better understand if you have an eating disorder, and what it might mean to you. I think the results have some great validity to them, but I don't want anyone's score to make them feel they might not belong here. My score was an 8 - and I run this thing....

How did you score? What does the score mean to you? Discuss it here in the forum.

Rumor has it that it's Eating Disorder Awareness Month. (not to be confused with NEDA's ED Awareness Week at the end of February to the first week of March.

So PT is going to do what it said it would at least try to do - help raise awareness around Eating Disorders.

Here is How    |    Here is Why   |   Here is With What

If you click the links above you can read the how, why, and with what PrettyThin will be involved with ED Awareness Month. This is who you, a visitor of this site, are:

PrettyThin gets a lot of visits. If you're reading this, then you're probably a member. Ever wondered what it means to be a member of PrettyThin?

Most of you know what this community is - beyond its tagline - and understand the kind of people this place comprises of. But what many of you don't know are how many you are, or where do you all come from, or the ways you found your way here, as a whole. So I'm going to share that with you, and share what I think it means....at least to me.

Each month PrettyThin gets about 1.5 million page views. That comes from about 5,500 people a day on the site. There are about 10,000 of you who come to this site 2 or more times a week. That's a pretty large group!

PrettyThin has a pretty international group. This is what you look like on a map during an average month - this is actually last month:

And here it is in terms of numbers...

There are a lot of people from the States. And a lot of English speaking people. But PrettyThin also has the largest reach internationally than any other site or community that is dedicated to Eating Disorders, one way or another.


What this means is those of you who are from other countries are not only representatives of your countries, but that you could have a huge impact on raising awareness about eating disorders in your country by getting involved. How do you get involved? Here is How.

PrettyThin has twice the international reach of NEDA according to Alexa.com, and is barely behind the National Eating Disorder Association in terms of American reach. By getting involved, we literally double the number of people talking about eating disorders just by having PT.


Now, there is a huge difference in the way, or reasons, people go to NEDA versus PrettyThin.

I'm not going to comment on this yet, but is this site full of people looking for thinspo?

Here is some more of what we do know:

About 2 out of 3 people who come to this site in a day come from a search engine. This means they're new to this site and have never been here before. But that means that if everyone on this site welcomed just two people a day, every new person to this site would have a personal welcome.

Sure, PrettyThin gets a lot of traffic, but there are also so many people who call this place home.

We have a lot of younger people who come to this site. The images below show how the site compares to other sites in terms of the percent of people from different age groups. 

Here is NEDA:

Here is PrettyThin:

As you can see, we have a lot more younger users than other sites, and not that many older people. Makes you wonder though - how come not many younger people try to get information from a site like NEDA? And what about this site being comprised of younger people makes it so wrong?

Make what you will of the numbers. The way I see it is that we have as much traffic at the National ED Association, and we reach the audience that suffer most from eating disorders far more than they do. We reach the people who are struggling with their ED. Shouldn't that group try to change the way the world views eating disorders? 

It's easy. Simply participate. There are a few ways to participate and get involved. These are just suggestions - be creative and share your own.

Share your stories and help people understand the complexity of a life with an eating disorder.

Create a ribbon that people can use to spread awareness.

Share whatever you can to help illustrate the complexity of eating disorders.

Ask and answer questions in the forum.

You don't have to tell people you have an ED! You simply need to be knowledgeable about what you're talking about - you're raising awareness and dispelling misunderstandings. The members are your resource.

Share things on your social profiles! Facebook, twitter, whatever! Do NOT spread awareness for PT. That is not what this is about. Don't even mention PT if you can. Remember, you're raising awareness for Eating Disorders, not PrettyThin!

 Ribbons - use them, even if for a day. Make your own. Share them here. Submit your designs and they will be added on PrettyThin for others to use and share. Where do you submit them? Go to our Facebook and post the image on our wall, or send them to pretty.thin@yahoo.com

(if you "like" the PrettyThin Facebook page and don't want anyone to know, you do that by clicking Edit for your Facebook profile and then editing the section for Pages.

How to Respond (ADVICE) - ideas and opinions from the community. I'm figuring out how to display them....maybe in the forum.

Stories - every day I will attempt to add a new story. A lot of members are submitting, and the biggest problem I have is editing. If you have a story to share, please send it along. Click the contact link on the top left, or email me at pretty.thin@yahoo.com

Got other ideas? I'd love to hear them. Get creative, and let's make a difference. This is only the first year of this. Each year will only get bigger. We need to start somewhere. Let's start here.

More content will be added every day! Contribute. Distribute. Get Involved.

 PrettyThin is the Worlds Largest Community of and for Individuals with Eating Disorders. It is a "Pro-Ana" site because it is Pro-Anorectic  -  PrettyThin is pro and thus supports those people who suffer from anorexia, no matter where they are in their lives. This community is for those with eating disorders, to talk and discuss the things that matter to them, and to be understood rather than judged.