Reaching Bloggers for National HIV Testing Day

Last week, AIDS.gov hosted a Webinar for bloggers in advance of National HIV Testing Day (on June 27). We reached out to bloggers for this event because so many people today depend on bloggers for their news, information, and opinions.

20 students. 6 universities. 8 short videos. 1 cause. National HIV Testing Day Personal Public Service Announcements

Dr. Kevin Fenton, Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention , with a PPSA participant

To help get the word out about National HIV Testing Day (June 27), the CDC and the University of Georgia’s New Media Institute collaborated on an innovative new media project. More than 20 students from six universities and five AIDS organizations hit the streets with video cameras this April to produce eight short video messages encouraging young people to be tested for HIV.

To learn more about this project, we spoke with Dr. Scott Shamp , a professor at the University of Georgia and the director of the New Media Institute , and with our CDC colleague Jackie Rosenthal.

We Are Living in a Virtual World: Part 1

HealthInfo Island on Second Life

When the AIDS.gov team first started hearing about virtual worlds, we were intrigued--and a little confused. Terms like “avatar ” and “in-world meetings” were unfamiliar. Places like Second Life , Whyville , Club Penguin , and Habbo seemed mysterious.

NIH, CDC, and NASA have been Federal pioneers in virtual space. To learn more, we spoke to Erin Edgerton at the CDC; Andrew Hoppin, from CoLab at NASA; and Lori Bell and Carol Perryman from HealthInfo Island on Second Life--an NIH-funded project.

Learning from Our Family Planning Colleagues

Miguel Gomez, Director of AIDS.gov

Here at AIDS.gov, we’ve learned two things over and over: Health care providers are often really excited by the possibilities of “new media”; and they have a lot of questions about what this actually means in the day-to-day functions of a program or clinic.

In April, Miguel Gomez, director of AIDS.gov, gave a presentation on new media at the Office of Population Affairs’ HIV/AIDS conference. Those attending the conference were from Federally funded organizations trying to integrate HIV-prevention services into family planning programs.