Like the old ad for Skittles (chewy fruit-flavored candies), diabetes bloggers come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. [OK, all Skittles are square, but that's not the point.] Right here on Blogabetes, we range from parents of children with Type 1 diabetes (Carey, Julia), people who have lived most of their lives with type 1 diabetes (Nicole, Lindsey), people who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as adults (Michelle), and people with type 2 diabetes (myself, Mike). The several of us are just a small sampling of the ways diabetes can touch our lives, and the viewpoints of people with diabetes.

Since Monday, many diabetes bloggers have been celebrating the Second Annual Diabetes Blog Week. While I've chosen to not participate -- the topics and the ways they are addressed are not my style, and I've had other things on my mind -- I'd be amiss not to point you all in the direction of Bitter~Sweet, whose owner, Karen, is coordinating the event. Over a hundred and fifty diabetes bloggers have signed up, and you will find each of them has a story, and a viewpoint, different from any of our Blogabetes bloggers. Perhaps more important than who has signed up for this event is who hasn't signed up. While novice cook Bob Pedersen and technical/pharma blogger Scott Strumello are participating, technical bloggers such as David Mendosa and Jenny Ruhl are not (or at least, I didn't see them listed on the blogroll). Then again, the topics listed really don't lend themselves to technical or political voices.

While Karen's list looks more like a sign-up sheet, Gina at The Diabetes Resource sorts diabetes blogs by type. There are a few more diabetes blog lists that further curate diabetes blogs, but I can't think of them offhand.

Even within a general category of diabetes bloggers, there are different subtypes. Amongst type 2 bloggers, David Mendosa has more of a research and low-carb viewpoint, while Robert Pedersen shares his experiments in preparing healthy foods. In the type 1 community, Scott Strumello and Allie Beatty look at the pharmaceutical industry's relationship to diabetes, while Amy Tenderich looks at ways the diabetes industry can better help those of us actually living with diabetes; army wife Cherise Shockley's strong faith is expressed in the way she reaches out to the diabetes community, and Lee Ann Thill looks at the psychological effects of living with diabetes. Regardless of his or her connections to diabetes, the best diabetes bloggers -- among whom those I've mentioned are but a handful -- provide viewpoints and information that are useful for all people with diabetes.

So, take your pick: we have technical bloggers, diet bloggers, fitness bloggers, pregnancy bloggers, mommy/daddy bloggers, and public-health bloggers; we have bloggers who have diabetes, others who care for people with diabetes, and others who do both. Some of us write with a single viewpoint and style, others of us mix "low blood sugar" posts with "new infusion set introduced!" posts or "how can I insurance to pay for enough insulin" posts with crustless-quiche recipes. Just like the myriad of fruits in the botanical (and yes, some of us are definitely "fruity"), each one of us has a unique voice and viewpoint. Take a look around, find which ones resonate most with you, and add us to your RSS feed, friend us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter. And if you're inspired to do so, pick up a keyboard and join the conversation.