My recent post on the concerns about the coming Web 2.0 bubble burst harming development of social media in healthcare ignited quite a debate. Right here and on Matthew Holt's blog.

One of the questions posed to me was "how come you are calling Health 2.0 hype, while Trusted.MD has not launched yet". Well, now is the time to get specific about these launch plans.

To start off, you will see the initial site upgrade this week.

2006 was the year for laying the foundation - starting up the community, building relationships, attracting coverage, learning and discussing ideas. The Medical Blog Network had one design (launched last January) and feature changes were minimal.

2007 is the year to put these ideas in practice - by offering more specific application features. There will be no "Big Bang" release, only continuous updates, prioritized based on community feedback and evolution of the business plan. But a few details are clear.

Next week we are rolling out a major core technology upgrade to make these rapid applications updates possible. First step is to migrate our existing features. You will see new design aimed for greater usability, though initial changes to navigation will be minor. Migration to http://trusted.md domain will follow in an extra week or two, along with initial site navigation changes.

Navigation will evolve greatly over the year, since it is always a challenge to arrange things in a busy site. I got plenty of feedback through our preview program and always welcome more. There will generally be more offerings for members who are not regular bloggers.

Now, what features are coming aside from "core" upgrade?

First thing to roll out will be membership groups functionality - to create a community for Consumer Health World conference and a few more groups ready to go. Once we have those out, next on the path are enhanced profiles for healthcare professionals. Once we get there and assess the progress further announcements will be made.

Finally, I would like to add a few words to conclude this discussion about "Health 2.0" and hype.

Trusted.MD does not want to be lumped into this category, nor ever make any promise we cannot keep. Social media entrepreneurship is not a sure thing, especially in healthcare. We are doing everything to minimize the business risks for ourselves and more importantly for individuals and organizations who we are aiming to serve. This dictates a measured and deliberative approach. I firmly believe in staying focused and it is as important to decide what NOT to get into.

Now, for fun, check out more coverage of Web 2.0 bubble burst (naming names) and a Web 2.0 jargon generator: