The CDC's 2009 HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta was inspirational. From the opening session (which included a wonderful speech by Regan Hofmann, POZ's editor-in-chief) to the closing session, I saw a great mix of people dedicated to finding new methods for HIV prevention.
Using new media in HIV prevention was a theme throughout the conference, including a social media lab where people could drop in for hands-on peer-to-peer tutoring on using new media (I was a volunteer tutor). On Tuesday, August 25, Michelle Samplin-Salgado, new media strategist at AIDS.gov, moderated the session that I was a panelist on titled "Voices from the Public and Private Sector on Using New Media in Response to HIV/AIDS."
My fellow panelists included: Erik Ireland from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), who described the ins and outs of podcasting and The SFAF Podcast; David Novak from Online Buddies, Inc., which owns the gay social networking site Manhunt, who explained their STI partner notification initiative called Manhunt Cares; and Andy Woodruff from ISIS, Inc., who detailed two of their HIV prevention text-messaging campaigns, SexInfo and Hookup.
In the photo, from left: Samplin-Salgado, Ireland, me, Novak and Woodruff.
I talked about the new media strategies we use here at POZ, including POZ TV and social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. I spent most of my time talking about lessons I learned in my first year as a blogger for the POZ Blogs.
We had a full audience for our panel and the social media lab was constantly busy while I was there. I hope that attendees to both found our suggestions useful.
Thanks to all of the folks at the CDC and at AIDS.gov for making my experience as a panelist so enjoyable!
Oriol on:
Using new media in HIV prevention was a theme throughout the conference, including a social media lab where people could drop in for hands-on peer-to-peer tutoring on using new media (I was a volunteer tutor). On Tuesday, August 25, Michelle Samplin-Salgado, new media strategist at AIDS.gov, moderated the session that I was a panelist on titled "Voices from the Public and Private Sector on Using New Media in Response to HIV/AIDS."
My fellow panelists included: Erik Ireland from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), who described the ins and outs of podcasting and The SFAF Podcast; David Novak from Online Buddies, Inc., which owns the gay social networking site Manhunt, who explained their STI partner notification initiative called Manhunt Cares; and Andy Woodruff from ISIS, Inc., who detailed two of their HIV prevention text-messaging campaigns, SexInfo and Hookup. In the photo, from left: Samplin-Salgado, Ireland, me, Novak and Woodruff.
I talked about the new media strategies we use here at POZ, including POZ TV and social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. I spent most of my time talking about lessons I learned in my first year as a blogger for the POZ Blogs.
We had a full audience for our panel and the social media lab was constantly busy while I was there. I hope that attendees to both found our suggestions useful.
Thanks to all of the folks at the CDC and at AIDS.gov for making my experience as a panelist so enjoyable!
Oriol on:
my story or point of view has to deal with the state of mind, one has ,over time with having hiv or aids. as a black guy, that now 52, and was determined to have hiv at the age of 37.i was at the best point in my life, since i had delt with being gay, and was comfortable in my own skin. since then ,so many things have changed. both, my mother and best friend have died of cancer, and i am no longer close to my siblings, and at this point ,not close to anyone at this time. so, its hard to be happy and to live a normal life when so many things have effected ones life. while hiv has made me more aware of taking care of myself, its made me more alone and wanting to have a closeness with someone thats doesnt happen often these days. as the days go by,there is a since of lonelyness and lost of a connection to people,family,and even the gay community at large. i hope as a start to rethink my life, i can come to terms that many things i have no control on, and the things that i do, dont come out as i would like, and i just need to realize that. live for to day and hope that future will be better than what the past has been. on that note,i wish all that have hiv or aids a blessed life from this point on. m m allen