"HIV over 50: Get Educated, Get Tested!"

By Deb LeBel

We often hear that only young people are spending time online, but data shows that more and more people over 50 are also spending time online. The Pew Internet & American Life Project provides a picture of how people aged 50 and older are using new media and how they use it to find health information:

• 45% of 70-75 year olds are online – and over the past three years they've had the biggest increase of any age group, and
• 54% of 50-64 year olds look for specific medical treatment information online .

From ChangeWave.com , we know that:

• “Baby Boomers” – people age 45-63 – now spend more time in non-work related activities online (12.9 hr/wk) than they do watching TV (11.8 hr/wk) ,
• 57% of Boomers have LinkedIn profiles – but, more surprisingly, 55% have Facebook profiles , and
• The latest Facebook statistics reveal that there was a 513% growth in users age 55+ over the past six months alone. And, during that same six months, the percentage of total Facebook users age 24 and under declined from 54.3% to 34.9% .

Community Voice Mail: Reaching the "Phoneless" with HIV Information

By Michelle Samplin-Salgado

Last week we wrapped up our month-long series of blog posts for National HIV Testing Day. But there’s one more National HIV Testing Day collaboration story that we’ve been waiting to share with you. We’ve discussed how communities of color use new media (and that access to new media often has much more to do with the type of internet connection you have than any other factor); Community Voice Mail addresses another access issue—phonelessness. Forget broadband or dial-up for a minute. What if you didn’t have a phone?

National HIV Testing Day - It's about YOU

By Deb LeBel

Saturday, June 27th was National HIV Testing Day (NHTD). For the past month, we've focused on real stories by real people about what taking an HIV test meant to them, through our “I Know, I Took the Test ” blog series and widget. We highlighted real personal HIV testing stories collected by organizations such as The Positive Project, Southern AIDS Living Quilt, National Association of People with AIDS, and POZ. We've been moved by the stories of people young and old, heterosexual and gay, male, female and transgender, people from different races and ethnicities, and people who have tested positive and negative for HIV. We've been inspired by their courage in offering their stories to all of us.

I Know, I Took the Test: My HIV Testing Story

By Miguel Gomez

Whitman-Walker Mobile HIV Testing Van

National HIV Testing Day was last Saturday. All month we've encouraged people to listen to real stories from real people about what taking an HIV test means to them. We used a widget to show short videos of both HIV+ and HIV- people sharing their stories about getting tested. And as we moved towards the end of this 4-week National HIV Testing Day blog series, we also listened to the President of the United States talking about his experience taking an HIV test.

I wanted to add to this conversation and share my experience as a gay man getting an HIV test last week.

National HIV Testing Day - A message from President Obama

by Miguel Gomez

Throughout the month of June, we've been asking people to share their HIV testing stories.

Today, in recognition of National HIV Testing Day, President Obama released a special video message about the importance of HIV testing and his own experiences getting an HIV test in Kenya.

The White House has used Twitter , YouTube and other new media tools to get the word out about this video and to spread the word about the importance of knowing your HIV status. We encourage you to watch the video and share it with your friends, co-workers and family.

To find a local HIV testing site, send a text message with your ZIP code to KNOWIT (566948) or visit www.HIVtest.org.