ISIS-Inc.: Technically, it's about Sex

Is birth control preventive care?

2010-06-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

With too-high teen pregnancy and abortion rates in this country, activists are hoping the recent passage of a health care reform law is an opportunity for millions of women to gain access to free or low-cost birth control. Under the new law, preventive services — like immunizations, cancer screenings and other wellness checkups — must be offered to consumers as part of their insurance policy, at no additional out-of-pocket charge, starting in September 2010.

Currently, contraception is not "preventive care" as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), but why shouldn't it be? As if she could anticipate the debate, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) sponsored an amendment that would broaden the care available for women: "with respect to women, such additional preventive care and screenings not described in paragraph (1) as provided for in comprehensive guidelines." Though the amendment doesn't mention birth control specifically, Mikulski spokeswoman Rachel MacKnight has said, "From her perspective, that includes everything from heart disease screening and diabetes screening to mammograms to birth control."

In parallel to the new legislation, Planned Parenthood for one is using this year's 50th anniversary of the Pill as an agent for public action.

"2010 marks the 50th anniversary of The Pill. Today, though we've come a long way, countless women lack reliable access to The Pill. In the coming months, federal officials will consider measures that will dramatically increase access," the organization noted.

Share your story: http://www.thepillispersonal.org/

Have a fiesta today, not a baby

2010-05-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

Every day, more than 2,000 teen girls in the United States get pregnant. In fact, 3 in 10 girls will become pregnant by age 20.

To combat this disturbing trend, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is honoring the ninth annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy TODAY, May 5, 2010. "The purpose of the National Day is to focus the attention of teens on the importance of avoiding too-early pregnancy and parenthood," according to the National Campaign. The campaign features an interactive online quiz for teens to work through awkward social situations.

This year's events come at a particularly important time in the context of teenage risk. After consistent and steady declines beginning in the early 1990s, the nation's teen pregnancy rate rose 3% in 2006, according to recent data from the Guttmacher Institute.

"Clearly a renewed focus on preventing teen pregnancy is needed," said Sarah Brown, Chief Executive Officer of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, organizer of the National Day. "We hope that— in some modest way— participating in the National Day will help teens think carefully about sex and contraception, the possibility of pregnancy, and the lifelong challenges of being a parent."

For more information:
Take the quiz
National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

Oh wait, we almost forgot...

2010-04-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

We know what you're thinking, "Websites are all well and good, but what about when I'm on the move? When is there going to be an iPhone app to find HIV/STD testing locations?"

Well, fear not. As we announced last month, GayCities and ISIS have partnered to provide access to listings in 95 U.S. cities. What we forgot to mention is that GayCities also has an iPhone app, and those nearby clinic locations now show up there, as well. Over 175,000 people have downloaded the app in the year of its existence, so now all those users have access to the nearest testing locations. What are you waiting for?

Where are the most popular spots? "SF, NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale--all the major gay enclaves--get great traffic. But we also have loyal followings in many smaller places, such a Nashville, Cleveland, and El Paso," according to Chris Bull, GayCities.com's co-founder & editorial director.

For more information: GayCities on your iPhone

Friends with Even More Benefits?

2010-04-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

The term "Friend with Benefits" has been around for years, but is it more common than ever? And why are public health experts concerned?

According to a new study by a University of Iowa professor, published last month in the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, these types of hookups or casual relationships lead away from monogamy and toward more STDs. The concern is that that people who have nonromantic, or casual, relationships tend to have several partners at one time -- "concurrency," in sexual behavior lingo -- in contrast to those in romantic relationships, who tend to be more monogamous.

This may seem obvious, but in the context of less education about contraception and more avenues to hook up, either with friends or casual acquaintances, the behavior is even more dangerous. Funding for sex ed in schools has been slashed in favor of abstinence, but young people are connecting on Facebook and elsewhere, more than ever. We think we're invincible, and the friends we've known since middle school are clean, aren't they?

Since we can't battle hormones and technology, let's just start talking about communicating our needs and protecting ourselves. "We encourage people be aware of the potential for sexual concurrency and take appropriate precautions to avoid sexually transmitted infections," the study said.

For more information: http://www.uiowa.edu/~soc/news/Professor76.html

Unwrap Your Art

2010-04-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Got some artistic bent and a passion for safe sex?
Are you under 25 and live in California?

The California Family Health Council has officially launched their 2010 Condom Cover Art Contest! Send in your best designs by July 1 and have a shot at winning $500.. PLUS your design could be one of six that will grace the wrappers of condoms sent out to your local clinics. So young people in your neighborhood can appreciate your art and be safe in the process..

Click here for more information and entry forms: www.teensource.org

ISIS and GayCities.com Join Forces to Reverse HIV/STD Trends

2010-03-15T16:42:00.000-07:00

It's not news that men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk for HIV and other STDs. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released at last week's National STD Prevention Conference in Atlanta, simply underscores this point. What is news is the technology and the collaborations created to fight this trend.

In response to the new data, ISIS has partnered with GayCities.com to provide referrals to free and low-cost HIV and STD testing in 95 U.S. cities. On GayCities.com, users can already find reviews of gay bars, restaurants, hotels and events, in locations from Seattle to Jacksonville. With the addition of community organizations that provide HIV and STD testing, gay men and other MSM can now "take charge of their health in a trusted place online where they already spend a lot of time," according to Deb Levine, ISIS' Executive Director.

The data released by CDC indicate that rates of HIV infection among gay men and other MSM are more than 44 times higher than rates among heterosexual men and more than 40 times higher than women. Rates of syphilis, an STD that can facilitate HIV infection and if left untreated, may lead to sight loss and severe damage to the nervous system, are reported to be more than 46 times higher among gay men and other MSM than among heterosexual men and more than 71 times higher than among women.

"This new data is a clarion call to deal with the persistent neglect of the health of gay and bisexual men across the country," said William Smith, Executive Director of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD). ISIS' partnership with GayCities.com is another cutting edge way to increase access to services for those who need it most.

About ISIS
ISIS Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization based in Oakland, CA whose mission is to use technology, new media and mobile for sexual health promotion and disease prevention. ISIS’ award-winning projects include SexINFO and Hookup text messaging campaigns, inSPOT, an STD ecard partner notification service, and Sex::Tech, an annual conference focusing on sexual health, technology and youth. www.isis-inc.org

About GayCities.com
GayCities is the most comprehensive, user-friendly online travel guide for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Designed to bring useful, up-to-date information on gay bars, clubs, hotels, restaurants, and beaches to the masses, GayCities is community-driven, with thousands of listings and reviews, so that users can find out what travelers really think about a destination. GayCities currently provides in-depth reviews and information on destinations for 160 cities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.gaycities.com.

The Politics of Sex Ed

2010-02-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

Abstinence only. True love waits. Teen pregnancy on the rise.

The news has been filled with catchphrases and headlines, but what's the truth?

Here's a start. A recent Guttmacher Institute study found that, for the first time in over a decade, teen pregnancy rates rose in 2006 (the most recent data available). According to the report, "this decline started to stall out in the early 2000s, at the same time that sex education programs aimed exclusively at promoting abstinence—and prohibited by law from discussing the benefits of contraception—became increasingly widespread and teens’ use of contraceptives declined."

So are we seeing the results of a decade of neglect and moralizing, or simply a blip in the statistics?

"It is too soon to tell whether the increase in the teen pregnancy rate between 2005 and 2006 is a short term fluctuation, a more lasting stabilization or the beginning of a significant new trend, any of which would be of great concern," says Lawrence Finer, Guttmacher’s director of domestic research. “Either way, it is clearly time to redouble our efforts to make sure our young people have the information, interpersonal skills and health services they need to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to become sexually healthy adults.

On the same day the Guttmacher report was released, an even more surprising study (at least to feminist activists) showed a program that advocated abstinence seemed to be more effective in helping teens delay their first sexual experience.

The Guttmacher Institute studied the study that's been getting the most press. Just as we thought, the programs that best convince teens to wait to have sex don't moralize or tell them to wait until marriage. But only until they're ready and can make a healthy informed decision.

Or maybe it's just a political gambit. With all the moralizing of the Republicans in Congress, is it just a game to get votes? When Arlen Specter became a Democrat last May he stopped asking for funding for abstinence programs in his state, according to a Politico.com article. And some activists would bring up the hypocrisy of unfaithful legislators telling young people to maintain the sanctity of marriage.

Behind the hype, one thing is clear: It's time for science and common sense to prevail. Contraception works when used correctly and reliably. Condoms are the best protection against STDs. Teenagers should be able to make decisions about their own lives with all the best tools at their disposal. So let's leave the moralizing to religious leaders, and the rest of us can get back to work.

For more information:
http://www.guttmacher.org/

Social Marketing 101

2009-12-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

Everybody's talking about Facebook and Twitter, and you want to get in on the action.. But your agency has no marketing department and only a few spare dollars to spend on this type of campaign.

Never fear.. Two California organizations, one with federal funding behind it, are here to help. "In an effort to increase primary prevention to prevent STD transmission and unintended pregnancies, the California Family Health Council (CFHC) Infertility Prevention Project and the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center (CA PTC) have teamed up to create a web-based Youth Social Marketing Toolkit (YSMT). The toolkit provides an overview of how agencies with limited financial resources can develop a social marketing campaign that reaches out to youth and young adults."

Answering such questions as: "What is social marketing?" and "What do you want to say?" with case studies and samples, the Toolkit aims to bring the idea and promise of social marketing in line with efforts on the ground.

The writers of this toolkit are careful not to sell social marketing as the cure for all ills. You still need to follow the core concepts of successful marketing even in the new media environment. "Social marketing is not always a success. If the attitudes and behavior changes you are encouraging are still not perceived as beneficial, acceptable and attainable by the priority population, it may not be worthwhile to develop a social marketing campaign at this time. In this situation, it is better to introduce a behavior change recommendation by developing connections with community and agreeing on a unified goal before planning a social marketing campaign."

For more information: Youth Social Marketing Toolkit

Dipping a Toe in the River

2009-11-09T13:55:00.001-08:00

While visions of walls of paper files have portrayed health care providers as the last relic in the old school, a group of public health professionals has rallied around the cause of emerging technologies. The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) this week released its final "Guidelines for Internet-Based STD and HIV Prevention," covering a wide range of technologies from banner ads to video games and mobile phones.

From the latest addition, Guidelines for Health Communications: "While the various websites and communication platforms covered in this document are popular and in wide use today, it is important to acknowledge that trends and technologies will certainly change. The arrival of new, currently unknown, technologies can be expected as can the use of these new media by our target populations. As such, it is important that public health professionals stay aware of, even track, how our target populations are using the various technologies and continually strive to meet them where they are. At a minimum, a periodic assessment of how your target audiences use electronic media is suggested."

The guidelines also include resources for further reading and tools for building and evaluating an Internet campaign, just to give an example.

For more information: Guidelines for Internet-Based STD and HIV Prevention

New Law Pits Internet Against Women's Rights

2009-10-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

Women in Oklahoma, beware, the Web is being used against you..

Update: As part of the legal challenge against the bill, the start of enforcement has been postponed until December 4, so that the judge could "look further into the case." Stay tuned...

Instead of using technology to increase access to care, broaden the range of options for care and unite consumers in pursuit of care, Oklahoma legislators are hoping to bring the state back to the time of the Salem witch trials or Nathaniel Hawthorne, take your pick.

As of November 1, you'll have another, higher hurdle to jump to get an abortion in your state. Starting on that date, you'll be asked more than 30 personal questions about yourself, including your race, marital status, age, medical history and reasons for getting an abortion. If it wasn't enough that only 4% of Oklahoma counties even have an abortion provider, those practitioners will have to submit that personal information to the state Health Department, which will then post the answers on a public website. No, it won't include your name and other "identifying information," but I'm sure that's small comfort to women from small towns, especially those of a racial or ethnic minority, God forbid.

Pro-choice groups have filed a lawsuit contending the bill tackles more than one subject at once, a violation of the Oklahoma constitution, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 30. In case you were dubious, this procedural gambit has worked before, in the case of a bill requiring women to get a graphic description of an ultrasound before being allowed to get an abortion.

For more information:
See the text of the bill here -- It's HR 1595

Center for Reproductive Rights case information

GetSTDtested.com sponsors webisode: The 'O' Mission

2009-09-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

Is Indya going to get tested using getSTDtested.com?? So far I've just watched the first four webisodes of a new series called The 'O' Mission, which aims to normalize sexual health conversations between peers and lead viewers back to sponsor getSTDtested.com to follow suit.

The 'O' Mission recruited real, accomplished musicians to play the band and has gone on a film tour starting with Columbia College Chicago in May of this year. This marketing tactic, unique and obviously expensive, will be interesting to follow. I couldn't find the videos on Youtube yet, but it would be nice if the story was easier to share with friends. Also interesting is that The 'O' Mission mentions getSTDtested.com at every 'commercial,' yet, getSTDtested.com doesn't highlight the connection. Perhaps a smart move to bring in a certain audience, with out alienating everyone else who might not connect as well to Indya and the 'O' Mission crew.

A Reuters article about the webisodes and the getSTDtested.com connection highlights the fact that this is a resource heavy campaign, but it could make a larger dent with better engagement of networks and sharing tools. Maybe that's coming.

Is Indya STD prevention's new darling?? Stay tuned.

PEP for HIV Exposure? A New Widget's Maiden Voyage

2009-09-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

Post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP for short, is a course of anti-retroviral drugs that can reduce the risk of HIV sero-conversion after an exposure if taken in a timely manner. The guidelines for administering PEP have changed over time, and for doctors deciding when to go for it hasn't always been clear.

Now there's a widget to help!

The New York Times reported today about the release of a new tool to 200 emergency room doctors in New York State. The tool "walks users through a screening process to determine whether they are candidates for treatment, provides specific information about the 28-day course of antiretroviral drugs, and even links to consent forms in 22 languages, including Creole, Laotian and Yoruba."

The tool can be easily updated by the health department with changes in recommendations and statistics so that the doctors can always have the latest to go on. And with the critical window for PEP at less than 72 hours, its time that decision making is made easier. I'd be happy to see an evaluation of this trial period, and if successful, expansion to others states. Perhaps there are other health care decision making models that can be digitized. We'll see.

2009 School Wellness Conference

2009-07-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

The California School Boards Association, the California Department of Education and the California Department of Public Health will bring together a diverse group of school community leaders who play a role in creating sustainable healthy school environments. The 2009 School Wellness Conference, in Anaheim California, October 6th - 7th, will build on the inaugural conference that focused on best practices and resources; statewide success stories and model program workshops; improved access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities; sample district policies that promote health on school campuses; and strategies to help schools succeed in implementing and evaluating their local school wellness policies. The 2009 School Wellness Conference will:

* Address critical health issues and their link to student academic achievement;
* Focus on school governance and leadership.
* Bring together school and community leaders to share collaborative and coordinated school health approaches; and
* Address health disparities and support a cultural shift toward healthier students.

The conference registration fee is $275. On September 19, the conference registration rate will increase to $350. For more information or to register for the conference, go to http://swc.csba.org/.

The new School Wellness Conference room rate is $110 single/double, $130 triple, $150 quad plus applicable taxes. Call Marriott reservations directly at (800) 228-9290. Reference the School Wellness Conference to receive this special rate.

Join us on October 5 for the pre-conference event, Finding common ground: Collaborating to prevent childhood obesity which will explore the foundations of collaboration among schools, cities and others. Specifically, it will address strategies for collaboration around nutrition, physical activity, joint-use of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, as well as safe routes to school with four interactive sessions and group discussions that speak to overcoming key barriers to collaboration. Attendees will be given resources and materials, such as toolkits and resource guides, as well as sample guiding principles for collaboration, joint-use agreements, school board policies and a checklist for starting a collaborative.

The pre-conference session will be offered at no charge on a first come basis to those who register for the conference. To register for the School Wellness Conference and pre-conference, visit http://swc.csba.org.

Get Live, Stay Live Was A Huge Success!

2009-07-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

The first ever Get Live, Stay Live Health & Arts Showcase was a resounding success. Over 300 youth and their parents came down to the Bayview Opera House on Saturday, July 25th, to check out performances from DJ Truth, Bread Me Out Family, RoachGigz, Young Bari, San Quinn and many more local artists. Ten percent of the attendees were tested on-site, and 150 visited a clinic prior to the event to pick up an access card for free admission! Our host Marcus tore the house down with safer sex messages, while SFDPH’s YUTHE Team, BMagic, No More Funerals, 3rd Street Clinic, New Generations Health Clinic and other organizations helped hold it down.

Visit www.getlivestaylive.org frequently for pictures and updates. We are beyond privileged and proud to have hosted an event like this for youth in the Bayview while collaborating with our partner organizations. A huge thank you to everyone that made Get Live, Stay Live possible! We can’t wait for the next Get Live, Stay Live event slated for October 2009! Hope to see you there.

Shame shame - STD defamation website makes it personal

2009-07-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

When a person gets diagnosed with an STD, its courtesy to contact current and former partners and let them know. This way they can take care of themselves too and everyone is happier. If it sounds scary there are systems in place to help you, like the STD division of your local public health department or inSPOT.org. These systems have been built with yours and your partners' privacy in mind.

So...I wasn't too happy this morning when I saw this article thud into my inbox. Put out by Citizen-Times.com, the article titled "Web site lists people with STDs -- Whether they have them or not," made me super grumpy. The site professes to be an international list of people with STDs. And anyone can post an addition to the site, regardless of truth. And yes, there is a list of names, complete with city, state, age and gender.

But, slow down a second. What if it is true? Isn't that person owed the same courtesy they just showed their partner by telling them in confidence? Don't we want to be reinforcing the habit of privately sharing this information with those who need to know because their health depends on it? Can't the response simply be, "Thank you for telling me. I'll get tested."

So what can we do here? Public humiliation is obviously going to dig us deeper in the wrong direction.

1. If you are sexually active make testing regularly part of your routine. Go with a friend if that helps. Get online and tap into the H IVtest.org database that includes both STD and HIV testing resources nationally. In San Francisco, STDtest.org provides a private, cheap way to test, with results securely accessed online by a unique identifier.

2. Share your results with your partner(s) and inquire about theirs. Build trust and sleep easier. Need help figuring out what to say? That's normal. Here's a guide.

3. Learn about the STDs and how they are transmitted, treated and prevented. Inspot.org has easily digestible information as does SF City Clinic.

Global Youth Demand Action

2009-06-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

Where were you 15 years ago? Maybe you were already working or looking for work, maybe you were in college or grade school, maybe you weren't even born yet.

But officials from 179 countries got together in Cairo, Egypt, in the fall of 1994 and promised to change the world in 20 years. The result of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was a ambitious plan that would, among other benefits, give universal access to services and information to improve the sexual and reproductive health of everyone by 2015.

Fast forward to today, with just over five years to go, and we have a lot of work to do.

Using technology that was just a glimmer in some developers' eyes 15 years ago, young people around the world are taking their sexual health and their future in their own hands. Earlier this month, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) launched the 15andCounting campaign on social networking platforms MXit, Facebook and Twitter - urging young people around the world to call their governments to task and demand action.

According to the campaign, "too many governments have failed to make good on their promises. This failure puts the lives and health of tens-of-millions of young people at risk." To put this in context, those born in 1994 form part of the largest group of young people the world has ever seen – some 1.5 billion. With these numbers, as I'm sure we all know, their health and wellbeing affects all of us.

Toward this end, the campaign offers a petition that will be presented to the United Nations to demand governments act now to "fulfill their promise to provide better access to sexual and reproductive health services for all young people."

More than 25,000 people from around the world have signed it so far, mostly young people. The campaign has a goal of "hundreds of thousands of signatures representing every country on the planet."

From their website: "We are asking all governments around the world to prioritise [sic] young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, including comprehensive sex education and information and youth friendly health services."

For more information, check out these links:

15andcounting
Join 15andcounting on Facebook
Follow 15andcounting on Twitter

Job Open at ISIS

2009-05-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, ISIS is looking for a Director of Finance and Administration. See job description below. If you're qualified, we'd love to have you on board.

The Director of Finance and Administration will oversee all administrative and grant-related functions in the Organization. This position is located in downtown Oakland and reports directly to the Executive Director. ISIS offers a casual and pleasant work environment and generous benefits.

Responsibilities Include:

· Creating and managing short- and long-term budgets; financial planning, annual projected budgets and generating budget reports

· Preparing financial reports and working with accountant on taxes and audits

· Working with Executive Director to develop organization-wide policies, procedures and systems

Working with Executive Director to set long-term strategic goals and align development efforts with overall goals; supporting Executive Director in all financial efforts, including grants, contracts, and donations.

· Work with Board of Directors on budget and strategic planning projects

· Managing development; overseeing work in grants, contracts and donations

· Ensuring compliance with all aspects, including reporting and invoicing requirements, of grants/contracts. Keeping current on changes to reporting requirements of all funding sources.

· Supervising human resources and finance

· Working with bookkeeper to ensure that invoices are completed accurately and on time and to correctly align income and expenses with the appropriate funding sources.

· Managing payroll and employee benefits, including 403(b)

· Identifying and working with vendors responsible for office equipment and supplies, IT, phones, etc. Negotiating contracts with vendors.

· Managing relationships with all office-related vendors including the landlord and office supply companies.

· Maintaining office supply inventory.

Qualifications and Requirements Include:

10+ years of senior level administration, finance, grant, and program management experience
Bachelor's Degree in finance, business or non-profit administration, MBA preferred
Solid short- and long-term budget planning experience
Strong strategic thinking and planning skills
Solid leadership and staff and vendor management experience
Meticulous attention to detail
Outstanding organizational skills
Strong time- and project-management skills. Must be able to meet multiple deadlines with strict and tight timetables.
Ability to work both independently and with limited supervision.
Flexible and hard-working
Strong analytical skills.
Excellent communication skills, including strong business writing skills.
Outstanding computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and donor database systems.
Comfortable with sexual health content.

Please submit your resume and cover letter with compensation requirements to: jobs@isis-inc.org

No phone calls, faxes, or in-person applications please.

Local candidates only.

ISIS-Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.

<3 Sex::Tech Doodles

2009-04-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Lloyd Dangle, the illustrator behind the packaging for Airborne and the San Francisco Bay Guardian weekly comic strip Troubletown, rocked Sex::Tech with caricatures and artistic interpretations of our speakers and their sessions.

We suggest you watch the video of the sessions here, then compare our speakers' likenesses to the doodles here. And and and, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and that Sex::Tech presentations are available to download!

Sex::Tech 2009 Media Buffet

2009-04-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

Sex::Tech 2009 was beyond superfragilisticexpiali- awesome! Really, it was and we have the video and photos to prove it. Head over to ISIS’ YouTube Channel and Flickr to get a taste of Buckworld One’s edgy, high energy performance.

You can also see what Dean Eckles from Nokia Research Innovate Design Experience Animate (IDEA) Team and Kevin Bertram of Distributive Networks said during the 2nd day keynote!

The presentations of our Sex::Tech attendees are also available for download here. We hope you enjoy all these tasty media morsels and REALLY hope you’ll come out for the next Sex::Tech! Don’t forget to add us on Twitter!

Sex::Tech 2009 was a roarin' success

2009-03-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hello y'all!

We rocked the JW Marriott for two full days (Sunday/Monday, March 22nd/23rd) with the Sex::Tech 2009 Focus on Youth conference.

More than 400 attendees enjoyed an array of speakers from Rutgers, NYU, University of Colorado, UCLA, and that was just the researchers!

The "un-conference" was a huge success -- with about 15 different folks signing up to host informal one-hour discussions with their peers on the spot!

And talk about an opening plenary! BuckWorld One took it to a whole new level -- the street-cred dancers from Riverside County brought the attendees to their feet. The passion and professionalism they showed in their dance -- which spoke on themes of racism, misogyny, street violence, oppression and a lot of other social ills -- were really amazing. The crew left everyone invigorated for the rest of the conference.

You can check out Sex::Tech (click) for a sampling of what we all experienced and what you should make sure you get a chance to experience next year.

Blessings,

YPulse at SXSW - getting the lo-down on teen webbing

2009-03-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Hello y'all,

Well, we're at the eve of Sex::Tech 2009 and all I can say is wow! Kickin' off this Sunday, March 22nd at the J.W. Marriott in San Francisco, California we here at ISIS are truly ready to rock the house! For those of you who want to show up prepared, I offer you this bit of blog to enhance and enrich your Sex::Tech 2009 experience.

Our friends at YPulse, namely Anastasia, headed out to the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas last week to host a roundtable on "What Teens Want in a Website", and wrote about feedback from youth panelists. The youth talked about a bunch of topics, including the age old battle - MySpace versus Facebook, MS being for the "urban youth" and FB catering to "suburban youth". Turns out that neither of these social networking sites are all that "hot" right now, and that the youth have moved on to other, more relevant ways to social network via technology.

Which brought up the conversation about moving away from the computer screen and handlin' teen biz via texting, which has truly surpassed any of the social messaging networks. Teens get a phone, and wham-bam-thank you ma'am (ol' skool talk), it's On!! And these teens still text more than talk, remember talking??, which allows more privacy than MS/FB.

The panel also discussed brand sites, video, twitter, the whole mix of what y'all teens get yourselves involved in nowadays, when you have the spare time. It seems that all of these topics were of interest, but none of them really dominated the teen panel's time.

Overall, the article points out a few really good facts, based on the teen panel that is........teens are more interested in mobility than sitting in front of a computer screen. As far as being "techies" teens are workin' the text thing like mad, new tech is not something that these teens had a real passionate desire to explore.

Read all about it so that when you are sitting in the Sex::Tech workshops you'll be right on top of the dialogue and possibly add some of your own!

Enjoy the show and we all look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Blessings!

Golden Gate Express Turning Up the Heat on Sex::Tech

2009-03-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

The SEX::TECH 2009 conference is ON! And we've got none other than our good friends at San Francisco State University, Golden Gate Xpress newspaper writin' us up!

Check out this awesome interview with none other than ISIS' Youth Outreach & Marketing Coordinator, Margaret Lucas (and SFSU alum), keepin' it real about what to look for at the Conference. Definitely check out the article to see how youth and technology are shaping everything from health outreach strategies, to political campaigns!

We know you've heard tons about it and are excited to participate - so make sure you get down to the JW Marriott Hotel, 500 Post St., San Francisco (near Union Square) and make it happen!

We got straight from the inland empire, BuckWorld, rockin and krumpin' to open the show. It's gonna be off the chizzain!

Blessings for a beautiful weekend......

Sex::Tech 2009 Focus on Youth is making noise

2009-03-06T14:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday, y'all! We're in full "conference" mode over here at ISIS, getting ready for our second annual Sex::Tech 2009 Focus on Youth shindig....and we're not the only ones. Found this great little blog, A Day in the Life, that is also is singing Sex::Tech praises. Seems as though lots of students were unsure if they could make it to the conference since it fell on a weekday, but the good news is that Spring Break begins during the same time so it works out perfectly.

Sex::Tech 2009 schedule has been finalized, and it is smokin'! Conference news is being blogged so you keep track of all the latest, last-minute updates and announcements. Sex::Tech 2009 is the only conference of its kind that provides a forum where technology folk, sexual health professionals and youth (ages 14-24) can come together to talk about how technology can be used to promote positive sexual health practices to youth.

We are going to have an amazing host of presenters, including Kevin Bertram, CEO, Distributive Networks, the folks behind Obama's text campaign. Kevin will be sharing his insight on how youth can mobilize their effort to create change - change we can believe in.

So make sure you check out the website to Register for the only conference of its kind, Sex::Tech 2009. Sex::Tech 2009 is being held the 22nd and 23rd of March at the Marriott Hotel, Post Street, San Francisco, California. Tell a friend, and we'll see you downtown.

Blessings.

Do Teen Sexuality + Adult Anxiety + Digital Technology = Public Trouble?

2009-02-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

I had two lovely plesaures this week - one was to spend some time surfing the website, The Midwest Teen Sex Show (MTSS), which labels itself as a "video show about teen sexuality" and the second was my telephone conversation with Dr. Marty Klein, a noted Marriage Counselor and Sex Therapist.

What do the two have in common - well, for one, MTSS has a tremendous amount of informative sexual content that teens can understand. MTSS website and videos promote healthy sexual dialogue and de-mystify the taboos that surround teen sex. The legal limitations applied to sexual health education by school districts, local jurisdictions, religious institutions (you get the picture) are what make it so hard for teens to learn ANYTHING or even ASK questions about their sexuality and how it all works. MTSS is the perfect outlet for those teens who "wonder why...."

So, how does Dr. Marty Klein fit in to all of this? you ask! Good question.......Dr. Klein is one of the few experts in the field of teen sexual rights and the dangers that teens might be facing for "exercising" behavior that might end up haunting them for the rest of their lives.

An article in Slate Magazine, entitled "Textual Misconduct: What to do about teens and their dumb naked photos of themselves" has some astounding implications about teen rights (or lack thereof). The article details the fact that if you are under 18, it is illegal to send naked photos of yourself to anyone, and in this case, the sender, a young teenage girl, was prosecuted as a sex offender and will now have to register as such FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE!

Dr. Klein is a featured speaker at the ISIS, Inc. Sex::Tech 2009 conference, being held March 22-23rd, in San Francisco, California. I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to him a bit about his presentation, and the predicament teens might find themselves in if they "text" nude photos of themselves to others. I asked Dr. Klein if teen's rights being reviewed by the present Administration? He answered that charges being leveled on teens are not federal; they are state, local or jurisdictional. The laws vary from state to state and it is up to the individual prosecutors as to if or how a teen is charged. The bottom line is "as far as discomfort with teen sexuality, every single American lives in a Red state" (meaning that red states are Bush lovers and Blue states are well, you know!)

Another question I asked was if he thought teens rights were being constricted, and if so, why? Dr. Klein said that historically, whenever any type of new technology was introduced to mainstream two things happen:

1) technology is adapted for sexual use (think television; publishing i.e. comic books, magazines; radio; internet)
2) adults get anxious about how teen's use said technology.

He went on to say that new technology creates "cultural panic" from religious institutions, mass media and parents. In short, until these groups understand the new technology, teens are less likely to have any rights.

Are teens aware of their rights?

Dr. Klein noted that when he was featured on the television show 20/20 in a segment called "Age of Consent", that an overwhelming majority of teens HAD NO IDEA of what the age of consent was for their State. And, he pointed out, in some cases, where the state line is accessible within minutes, there is a huge possibility that a law can be broken (or avoided) just by crossing the State line. "There are an awful lot of young people who don't realize that nude photos (sexual) of a minor can be perceived as child pornography".

Is advocacy for change happening?

Dr. Klein states that conferences like Sex::Tech 2009 open up forums for access, control, information regarding sexuality that can easily be filtered out of the Internet by local jurisdictions, including school districts.

So, as you can read, lots and lots of very important, life changing, permanent implications in the most innocent of teen behavior, that most teens don't know about but could impact their lives (and friends, families, communities) if.........

Blessings!

Scarleteen spins a web of great sex info

2009-02-20T15:17:00.000-08:00

Where have I been!! SCARLETEEN has been operating since 1998 and I'm just getting 'round to checking out their site.

And what a site it is - there's got to be information on anything and everything I have EVER wanted to know about, sexually and otherwise (which means to you, the reader, all the "curious" questions I've been too shy to ask anyone!!).

Here's a bit of what SCARLETEEN has to offer:

abortion abuse activism anatomy arousal birth control body image choices clitoris communication condoms gender health infection intercourse love masturbation men oral sex orgasm pain partner penis period pleasure pregnancy rape readiness relationships risk safer sex sex sexual health sexuality sti teen vagina virginity vulva women

So you know you're gonna be spending a lot of time browsing this site!!

And they are not funded by any large organization nor do they receive public funding, and to boot they don't ever run any advertising.

SO, CHECK THIS - THEY NEED $$$$$$ - and for a very short time (through the middle of March 2009) your donation will be matched up to $3k. Believe me, after spending the morning going through the amazing amount of information - which, by the way, is provided by sexual health experts from all over the country, it would be an injustice not to send them a donation, small, medium, or large - whatever floats your boat!

Blessings!

WHAT TIME IS IT?

2009-02-13T14:56:00.001-08:00

I truly am amazed at some of the inane uses of technology that have bombarded our lives. The latest and greatest of these is the good ol' bitch-o-meter, also sweetly known as PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome).

Now fellas, don't get me wrong, I, like anyone other woman, would love to be able to control my "f'ed up" mood swings during "that time of the month" but to have my iPhone keep tabs on me is just way too much information.

So on this Friday, the 13th and Valentine's Eve (sort of an oxymoron if you ask me), I offer you PMSBUDDY the newest roar of the crowd website that not only let's you know that you're ready to becoming a raving lunatic or depressing pain-in-the-ass, but also gives you "tips" on how to handle all those extra hormones! Now granted, for the partners of the aforementioned "lunatics" a quick mail message saying "bring chocolate" or "don't make any fat jokes" could be just the cure.........

Oh, and the big whomp is that PMSBuddy is now also available as an iPhone App for all of you movers and shakers - and no, we don't mean throttling someone by the neck 'cuz they whistled at ya!

So there you have it - and if this blog seems mean and pointy - well damn it, check my Facebook link and you'll know that I'll be howling at the moon in a few short days!

Blessings,

BRAVO is at it again! Earn up to $250

2009-02-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

The folks at BRAVO are introducing their latest Study on Women's Reproductive Health - specifically aimed at women between the ages of 18 and 25.

The BRAVO Study has been ongoing for quite some time now - the focus is to discover new ways to fight a very common STD - bacterial vaginosis (BV), one of the most common vaginal diseases contracted by women (1 in 10 women nationally have BV but may not know it).

The BRAVO Study ask the question: Do patients with BV stand a better chance of NOT contracting any other STD's, specifically chlamydia and gonnorhea when under a doctor's care?

This study and those that have preceeded it are always done with the complete oversight of medical professionals and clinicians.

THE DETAILS:

What will I be asked to do?

As a participant in the BRAVO study, you will be asked to:
Participate in ONE clinic visit (This visit should last approximately 45 minutes)
After the first visit, you can participate in the rest of the study from home (ever other month for a year).
You will be mailed a kit to complete six home tests (these follow-up tests should take you approximately 15 Minutes).

How long will the study last?
Your participation in this study will last up to one year.

Who is eligible?

Women between the age of 18-25 years old

NOT Pregnant.

Currently sexually active.

NOT living with your husband or main partner for over one year.

Willing to be screened for BV (To be eligible you must have asymptomatic BV).

NOT currently on your menstrual period (this only applies at your first visit).

If you are eligible and join the study you will:
Have the opportunity to have regular testing for certain sexually transmitted infections for one year at not cost to you, from the privacy of your own home.

Be paid for your time and effort.

If you are interested in the study and would like to schedule an appointment, Please contact Nikole @ 415-525-7718 or Bravostudy2008@yahoo.com

Thank you for your help!!! This is your chance to make a difference in your community.

Screening performed at 356 7th st. San Francisco CA 94103

Help yourself, help others and get paid!! The results of the study will help public and private health officials continue the battle against dangerous STD's and provide awareness to our young women.

Blessings!

FEBRUARY 7TH, 2009 - NATIONAL BLACK AIDS DAY

2009-01-30T15:33:00.000-08:00

Blessings All!

It is bittersweet that I write this blog to remind you and myself of the ongoing crisis affecting the black community.......the unprecedented numbers of brothers and sisters in the community being diagnosed as HIV+. Saturday, February 7th marks the 9th Annual National Black AIDS/HIV Awareness Day being organized throughout the country.

The mission of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is to build the capacity and increase awareness, participation and support for HIV prevention, care and treatment among Black Americans. February 7, 2009 marks the ninth year of this annual event.

The primary goal of NBHAAD is to motivate African Americans to get tested and know their HIV status; get educated about the transmission modes of HIV/AIDS; get involved in their local community; and get treated if they are currently living with HIV or are newly diagnosed.

The website allows a user to register their local effort on the national site and gives tips on how to create awareness and empower the community to come together over this devastating virus. Once you have registered you can order supplies that will help create a successful local community event.

When we look at HIV/AIDS by race and ethnicity, we see that Black Americans have more illness (even though blacks account for about 13% of the U.S. population, we account for about half (49%) of the people who get HIV and AIDS), shorter survival times (Blacks with AIDS often don’t live as long as people of other races and ethnic groups with AIDS), and more deaths (for Black Americans and other blacks, HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death). This is our year for change! Let’s mobilize and do something that will be long-lasting in the fight against HIV/AIDS!

Sign up today and make a difference in your community - the devastation has to stop - we have to empower ourselves to make a change - to learn how to protect ourselves, our brothers, our sisters, our daughters and sons........get involved, our future is at stake.

Peace.

U.S. abortion funding restrictions lifted by President Obama

2009-01-23T15:29:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the era of change we can believe in. In a remarkably unceremonious fashion, President Barack Obama (this is my first time writing his name, feels good on my fingertips!) has lifted a ban imposed by the Bush Administration that restricted funding to any international agency that promoted abortion or safe sex education.

Former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, repealed the policy when he took office in 1993 and George W Bush reinstated it in 2001.

Since then it has reduced international funding for the International Planned Parenthood Association by close to $100 million dollars.

I truly think that the progression and stimulation President Obama has brought to the Washington is going to have a profound effect on how the world views the United States. Already there are pundits lying in wait to watch Obama's policies fail - and yet, I, we, the people who elected him (at least I voted for him!) stand in awe at how swiftly and markedly he has moved into his place in history.

I applaud President Obama's shift in policy and his efficiency in making the change I can believe in more than just a slogan, but a rallying cry!

Blessings!

Nokia.mobi brings you to the Here and Now

2009-01-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

We love one-stop shops – especially ones for your mobile device. Nokia brings us 'Here and Now', an add-on to Nokia.mobi's web portal. This app attempts to put every aspect of lifestyle content aimed at 18 to 35 year olds right at their fingertips.

Through Nokia.mobi's "Here and Now" users can access:
* Mobile internet
* News
* Music
* Daily gossip fix
* Download Market Place
* Nokia's latest products

Great concept if the functionality is there, especially since it integrates content from already popular publishers like Reuters and Rolling Stone. "Here and Now" is meant to encourage users to spend more time on Nokia.mobi, which comes bookmarked on all Nokia phones (but is accessible from any mobile device). This is an advertiser's wet dream app, as it allows interactive marketing to a specific demographic of the 3.3 billion mobile users; We at ISIS see the potential to harness this for sexual health.

Free Quick Picks - and no, I'm not talking the lottery!

2009-01-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

Hello y'all,

It's another Friday and you know what that means, at least here in Cali - the weekly lottery begins tonight and ends tomorrow. Well, the Center for Disease Control National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) has caught on to the "quick pick" phenom and is offering FREE materials of NPIN brochures, fact sheets, posters, and other materials about HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STDs, and TB.

The cool thing about the "quick picks" is that they are broken out into each of these four categories that deal specifically with topics specific to: African American, Hispanic/Latino, MSM's, Women.

Each link reveals a list of brochures, articles, videos, publications, etc. that can be downloaded for free. The breakout is specific to the demographic and allows the user to get the latest information currently being distributed by the CDC.

If you are looking for materials to teach workshops, or are interested in what the latest research results are saying, this is the easiest and least expensive way to get your hands on top-notch, government approved information. All you do is open the link that you are interested in, click on the pamphlet or material you would like to receive, fill out the order form and submit. The materials will be sent to you free of charge within two to four weeks. The other caveat is that you can order up to 10 items, with multiple items counting towards the total.

I highly recommend taking a look at this site - the information is priceless, literally!

Blessings,

FINALLY! Technology-based Prevention Strategies Hit the Mainstream!

2009-01-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

"'It's safe to say that some of the [current STD/HIV] prevention efforts are not working. New, innovative methods will be required to get through to this generation of young people, for whom text messaging and the Internet are integral parts of daily life,' says Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Morehouse School of Medicine and the medical director for the Center for Excellence in Sexual Health."

Oh, Yolanda, ISIS <3 U. According to the new "Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2007" report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, STD transmission rates are on the rise – particularly among women and minorities, between 15 to 24 years old.

FINALLY! The mainstream media, doctors, health educators and even the government have discovered what we at ISIS have known for about seven years now: Technology, particularly internet-based and text messaging, is an incredibly effective way of making sexual health information easy and nearly free to access for everyone.

Our peer STD partner notification website, inSpot has been replicated in 10 states, 11 cities and is quickly growing. SexINFO, our sexual health text messaging program has been replicated in Washington D.C. as part of the RealTalk Campaign and is definitely the service to watch. Both of these services break down the barriers that prevent open, honest communication around sexual health and fill the information void.

Surely this article has piqued your interest in technology-based STD prevention methods, so you’ll definitely want to check out the Sex::Tech Conference Focus On Youth, where innovators in technology, past, present and future and sexual health badasses converge to show us all the goods they’ve been cooking up to facilitate dialogue and prevent disease transmission. The Sex::Tech Conference is the only place that you’ll be able to see many of these emerging sexual health innovations and talk to their makers. There might (definitely!) be some ideas or partnerships for you to take back to your organization and implement in the future!

"The Young and The Restless STD's"- cel-phone soaps highlight prevention

2009-01-09T15:52:00.000-08:00

A new study out of Rutger's University (New Jersey) School of Nursing has combined the oh-so-addicitive soap-opera saga with STD prevention and awareness messages.

"Text Message Soap Operas" have been created - 12 in all - to uncover how women in the study will react (and change their behavior?) after watching the 20-minute episodes on their cell phones. Their risk-reduction behavior will be measured against a control group that will receive text messages urging condom use, but no video. A total of 250 women will participate.

The creator of these "soaps", Nurse educator Rachel Jones, found that more and more young women - bright, educated and single - were showing up in her office infected with an STD's, or pregnant. When asked why they did not promote condom use with their sexual partners, most of the young women responded that their partners viewed condoms as a "sign of distrust" - even though the women were aware that their men were creepin' on them.

The addition of a visual component, another young female that the women can relate to and get emotionally involved with, will hopefully lead to them changing their behaviors as well.

The rampant rise of STD's, including HIV, among young people of color, especially young women, is overwhelming. In a country that should be able to address such an outbreak, and with young women who know the risks of unprotected sex - this should be a no-brainer. But that, sadly, is not the case.

I know that a good "soap", where I can get involved in someone else's mess, oftentimes gives me a chance to see how crazy lives can get.......the ideal behind these soap messages is the same for the women viewing them....and will give them some motivation to take pause and look inward.

Blessings!

AMPLIFY YOUR LIFE!

2009-01-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

Greetings on this first day of 2009 - wow, we've gone through a lot
over the last 12 months, I truly am looking forward to all this new
year has to offer.

To that end I offer you AMPLIFY. Brought to you by the folks at Advocates for Youth, AMPLIFY is their newest foray giving voice to youth on current issues. The power to create CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN is already evident with our President-elect. This new online community is aimed at motivating youth to take a stand, get involved, make a difference. Links such as ACT, IN THE CULTURE, ISSUES, and CAMPAIGNS, run the gamut from pop culture and media to creating your own grassroots campaign.

For instance, the IN THE CULTURE blogs are written by youth for youth.
The blogging is witty and sexy (try doing that while making a point)
and above all, informative. The writing didn't jump me, it actually
gave me a different point of view to consider, which in my case is
hard to do.

Overall, there are maybe too many links and issues, it can almost be
so overwhelming you don't know where to start.......kinda like being
in the ice-cream store with 31 flavors looking dead atcha and not
knowing what to choose. So I say, be daring, sample each, and I am
positive you will find something you'll like, and heck, it's sugar
free!!

Internet-based Prevention Protocols Wiki - Style!

2008-12-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

The National Guidelines for Internet Interventions have found their home on a wiki managed by consultant Stephan Adelson. The materials, the culmination of several long years of collecting, re-writing, updating and finessing, include documents and guidelines critical to those of us in public health using technology to prevent STDs and HIV.

Finally, all the good stuff together again in one place! Kind of like your dream version of the holidays. You have your Turkey (Executive Summary), your mashed potatoes (Guidelines for working with a variety of hook-up sites) and a variety of pies (freshly baked internet partner services guidelines) AND (hot off the rack Internet outreach guidelines).

And, most importantly, this wiki will not go down in history (like Columbus!)

Thin or Thick - let's let the ladies decide

2008-12-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

I love reading the East Bay Express, although I almost never get around to reading it when it first hits the stands.

This particular story is about condoms - yes, that's right - the condom wars are on and hanging! No little thing (get it, "little thing") either, because this particular showdown is happening in our own backyard. Berkeley's own Mayer Laboratories Kimono Condoms are considered the #1 best thin condoms on the worldwide market- beating out long-time contenders Trojan and Durex.

So what's the big deal - thin condoms, thin crust pizza, I know what I like. What struck me as interesting was the way that Mayer Laboratories has positioned their product - they market the condoms towards a woman's sensibility. Whereas Trojan and Durex talk about "magnum XL" and "thick and ribbed", which make most men feel "powerful", Mayer actually takes a spin from a women's perspective. Women have ranked the light, silky and smooth feel of Kimono condoms superior to their old school competitors.

So whatcha say - if you're gonna wear a condom, and that goes for the ladies, too - since we have a few tricks down our pants as well (wink, wink) I would prefer thin, light and silky to ribbed and rugged - isn't the world a wonderful place - choice for the masses.

Blessings!

Redefine Abortion? Put Your Foot Down Via Online Petition

2008-12-17T15:57:00.000-08:00

It's an epic bummer to realize that this new era of Obama led change that we've all been so looking forward to will be wrapped up with undoing the last 8 years of Bush era legislation – particularly around sex education and abortion rights.

Bush being the sneaky sneaky lame duck he is has tried to pass "a regulation establishing a 'right of conscience' allowing medical staff to refuse to participate in any practice they object to on moral grounds, including abortion but possibly birth control and other health care". Surprised? We're not.

Needless to say passing such legislation would be problematic for many, because who wants their doctor to have the ability to refuse an individual medical care based on their personal rather than professional objections? Let's fight back with the peeps over at Planned Parenthood Action Center by digitally signing and circulating this petition that aims to "Tell the Bush Administration to Keep its Word: Stop Efforts to Redefine "Abortion" to Include Birth Control".

Standing up for Women of the World

2008-12-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

I would to introduce you to this phenomenal organization, FCI, Family Care International.

Founded in 1987 by Jill Sheffield, FCI has been focused on delivering quality maternal health care in countries where women are still second-class designates.

"FCI envisions a world where no woman suffers preventable injury or death from pregnancy or childbirth related causes, and in which all people are able to enjoy their sexual and reproductive health and rights. "

FCI publishes workbooks and teaching materials on a variety of topics aimed at empowering women's sexual health rights and responsibilities. Some great tools here, CD-Roms and teaching manuals that bring to light the historical, political and religious influences that are impacting women around the world.

Wow! It always amazes me how women in the United States feel that we, as a group, have no voice or power. Take a trip to Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa (countries where FCI has offices) or any other third world country and truly have your eyes opened. I'm not even talking second class citizen, try maybe third or fourth class! And to think that we hear in the U.S. don't even realize how much work needs to be done to bring our sisters along side us.

FCI staffs eight field offices, and spends over two-thirds of its budget on strengthening reproductive health programs in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. FCI creates tools and resources to strengthen services in more than 100 countries.

FCI reminded me that we truly are a global village - that women everywhere are being compromised and yet we still persevere in spite of it all.....BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD!

Blessings!

Student-Run, University- Based Sex Zines Say Wha?

2008-12-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

The prevalence of university-based, student-run sex zines is on the rise. And we're thankful for it. Rice University via Open magazine (which also hosts some pretty steamy content) is just one of the few who have rolled out a "sex-trivia pub night" with the goal of getting students to talk honestly about their sexuality in a time where sexual health information is restricted by religious groups. Students break into teams and answer "erotically charged questions". The most sexually knowledgeable team wins a $20 tab at the on-campus, student-run hang out. How cool is that?

It's fair to say that we would love to see more of these sex trivia nights spring up on university campus' around the country, to not only get young people talking about their sexuality but to also engage them in a dialogue around sexual health. The more comfortable one is with their sexuality, the more at ease they feel when sexually based questions arise that need answers stat. We can only hope that more universities and their zines follow suit and drop us a line when they do!

In the Life (ITL-TV) pays homage to AIDS

2008-12-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

On my never ending quest to entertain and inform, I got an email message giving me a heads up to a new public television program called In the Life - new to me that is.

Broadcast nationally for more than 16 years, IN THE LIFE has been a staple of public television. Since 1992 IN THE LIFE has been a essential tool for informing LGBT citizens, educating the broader public, and a vital contributor to the national dialogue on LGBT issues. Their mission is to reach the largest audience possible to educate, challenge, and inspire viewers from all walks of life.

This month's IN THE LIFE looks at the current state of HIV/AIDS and the continuing effort to educate and communicate the peril it still presents. The episode AIDS IS STILL A BIG DEAL arose out of the research of two NY Public Health professionals and New York University has produced an innovative web-based campaign telling the story of a young gay man in New York City who meets sex partners on the Internet.

A change in attitude can lead to a change in behavior. After watching the episode I realized how easy it is to "opt out" of being responsible for my own health. This segment really brought the message home, its my responsibility to ask what I need to know - to ensure I know my status is before I go any further than first base.

To find out the station and time IN THE LIFE airs on in your community, click here. Check it out, there are episodes from past shows as well and who knows, you might even find yourself going to changing your attitude as to how you handle your affairs.

Blessings!

Microsoft Helps Teachers Get Digital

2008-12-03T16:46:00.000-08:00

The classroom is often the site for stimulating innovation but unfortunately the tools used are not that innovative. Kids are beyond bored by the current teaching methods and are prohibited from using their cell phones, laptops and other emerging tech goodies that are components of their daily lives. Instead of banning technology from classrooms, teachers and administrators from preschool to college should consider integrating it as education aids since they are platforms that kids and young adults feel the most at home and engaged with, especially when it comes to sex education.

Microsoft explored how schools are failing to adapt to their students’ digital lifestyles at their School of the Future World Summit in Seattle. Microsoft also showed off some of their projects that aim to remedy the digital disconnect, like their “content-creation tools” for teachers to assemble digital content for students and a Surface tabletop computer that could revolutionize how information is presented and absorbed.

Microsoft’s School of the Future World Summit has planted the seeds to get educators thinking about embracing technology in the classroom. Imagine if homework assignments could be sent from the teachers “content-creation tool” directly to youth’s cell phones (so there’s no excuse for them not to get their assignments done) or if they could display critical sexual health information and diagrams on those sexy Surface tabletop computers.

Sexual Literary 101- check out SexSmartFilms!

2008-11-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

Lookie here! The sexual revolution has finally come full circle with the newest addition to the Internet, SexSmartFilms. SexSmartFilms promotes online sexual literacy. The website boasts: "Imagine having access to a constantly updated digital warehouse of sexuality education, research, and therapy films from the past 70 years. That describes SexSmartFilms."

Founded in 2008 by Dr. Mark Schoen, who was also a presenter at the ISIS Sex::Tech 2008 conference (don't miss Sex::Tech 2009 scheduled for March 22-23), he has collected hundreds of rarely seen or heard of sex education training videos that were produced for the U.S. military, sexual health professionals and educators. These short films/videos are now available to download and view at little or no charge. The underlying theme is that all of the shorts are "educational tools" and can be used by educators, health care professionals, corporations or just curious folk for relevant content on sexual health issues.

SexSmartFilms actually provides the context for the films listed. That is, there will be pre and post viewing suggestions along with a brief synopsis that includes the appropriate audience for any title viewed.

You can either purchase a "monthly viewing plan" that gives you access to the entire video library, including some classic U.S. military shorts on STD prevention for our WWII boys; or, watch the "free" videos. All the videos are categorized by topic, and there are over 20 "channels" from which to choose.

SexSmartFilms also aquires videos and is currently looking for either amateur or professional media.

Take a look, you will DEFINITELY learn something - the feature video this week is The Internal Clitoris with Betty Dodson and I learned a heck of a lot in 3 minutes!

Blessings!

GEEK OUT!

2008-11-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

Computer nerds unite! An extensive study by UC Irvine researcher Dr. Mizuko Ito found that teens using the Internet are not only excelling in meeting the requirements of new technology, but are improving their social and networking skills as well. And all those parents that thought little Timmy needed monitoring are just wrong, wrong, wrong.

The three-year study interviewed over 800 youth and their parents and monitored over 5000 hours of on-line social networking communities. What Dr. Ito and her team discovered was that today's youth are facing a completely different type of socialization than their parents, where the virtual world of technology can enhance "self-directed" learning - i.e., youth can choose what they want to learn about, in an inf0rmal, tailored manner. By pursuing their own interests, youth can find social networks with like interests that serve as tutors, helping to enhance the learning experience and empower the user. "Ito and her team of researchers found that participation in the digital age means more than being able to access serious online information and culture. Youth using new media often learn from their peers, and notions of expertise and authority are being redefined."

The prevalent thought of parents today is that spending too much time on the computer will create social isolation have been proven false. Come to find out that there are two distinct "types" of internet use: friendship-driven and interest-driven. In fact, the study goes on to state that as opposed to youth learning from one source (school teacher in a static setting), the advent of the internet as a learning tool is allowing youth to branch out far beyond their geographical location, literally increasing their social circle on a global scale.

So Mom, Dad - next time you think your kid(s) are just "wasting their time" surfing the 'net - don't be alarmed, whether they know it or not, they are really enhancing their technical and social skills to fit tomorrow's needs. But don't tell them that - it wouldn't be cool.

Blessings!

Mobile Gaming For Change

2008-11-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

Everyone and their mom has a mobile device in their pocket with a variety of games on it (even if they don’t know it). Now imagine if those games were used to increase awareness around important social issues, like, say, HIV/AIDS.

Freedom HIV/AIDS is maximizing the ubiquitous nature of mobile devices by creating the first ever initiative on HIV/AIDS awareness using mobile phones games.

Believe it or not, games are an effective way of spreading messages and generating awareness by the “play and learn” method, which makes absorbing new information fun and engaging, while also helping retention.

Freedom HIV/AIDS has four mobile games targeting different mindsets and psychology of mobile users on an array of devices with high end and low end displays for accessibility to consumers at every price point.

You can read about the games and their mechanics in detail here. So far there have been 10.3 million downloads since the initiatives’ launch in December 2005. This is one of the largest ever social initiatives on mobile devices and is an amazing, fun, convenient and semi private way to learn about HIV/AIDS issues from the palm of one’s had.

We can only hope that other health initiatives expand their education outreach into the realm of mobile games in an effort to reach a larger demographic.

A cure for AIDS? A German Doctor thinks yes

2008-11-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

I was surfing the 'net yesterday and came across an astonishing article about a U.S. citizen living in Germany who was diagnosed with leukemia and AIDS was cured of both!

The patient had prior treatment for his leukemia which failed. His physician, Dr. Gero Hütter, tried a second treatment, a bone marrow transplant using a molecule called CCR5. CCR5 acts as a kind of door for the virus. Since most HIV strains must bind to CCR5 to enter cells, the mutation bars the virus from entering. About 1% of Europeans, and even more in northern Europe, inherit the CCR5 mutation from both parents. People of African, Asian and South American descent almost never carry it. The bone marrow transplant was a success and for the last 600 days no AIDS virus has been detected in the patient's blood cells.

This treatment may lead to gene therapy as the solution to curing HIV and AIDS, which is a whole different argument, as gene therapy is a lot riskier than antiviral treatment.

Let's just hope we are that much closer to finding a cure - for all, for good.

Blessings!

Is this what they meant by meet me under the rubber tree?

2008-11-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

There must be something said for creativity - sexual and otherwise! Check out this article on how non-profits and condom companies are "expanding" there outreach in countries that are not "big" on safe sex practices.

In Ethiopia, which currently accounts for 10 percent of the world's total HIV/AIDS infections, DKT International, has distributed "coffee-condoms that actually smell like a macchiato, an espresso with cream and sugar - trying order one of those at Starbucks!

In order to reach young men in Western Australia, health care professionals hang condom-filled cannisters from trees for the youth to retrieve - hopefully the branches are low enough for the shorter folks!

In all, these novel approaches point to the fact that prevention is only as effective as access. Social stigmas and religious taboos create an impasse in many countries, including our own. Thanks to these organizations to have the foresight and wherewithall to meet the needs of the people on their own terms.......heck, some of those ideas would work well right here in the Bay Area!

There is no effectiveness data that I could find on these practices, but I will keep looking for updates and write about anything I find that provides feedback on how well these attempts are working.......

Have a blessed weekend and be the change you want to see in the world!

Channel 4 and Embarrassing Teenage Bodies

2008-11-03T14:36:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post I went on and on about this great UK based online sex education show called obviously enough The Sex Education Show. After doing a little more digging on the host site, Channel 4, I found the "Embarrassing Bodies" section. The idea behind the section and its accompanying webisodes (Called "Am I Normal") is to remind you not to let embarrassment stop you from keeping your body healthy. The Am I Normal webisodes are frank open and honest. What I think is most helpful and informative about them is that if they are talking about a penis, they will show you a penis. When they try to assure the viewer that there is a wide range of normal for a vagina they show you actual vaginas representing that range. They've just blown past innuendo and started talking facts. I love the Brits!

Check out the info video:

Am I normal penis:

Am I Normal Vagina

BRAVO study participants can earn $155!

2008-10-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

BRAVO - a new study on Women's Reproductive health was recently launched by the San Francisco Public Health Department. Eligible participants receive a miniumum of $155.

The BRAVO study focuses on young women between the ages of 18 and 25 who have bacterial vaginosis (BV). Even though BV is NOT a sexually transmitted infection, it can lead to vaginitis (vaginal irritation, abnormal odor and abnormal discharge). If all this sounds like way too much information (TMI), just think about how much PREVENTION can begin once this study gets underway (and more funding for women's health period!)

Eligibility:18-25 years of age - Not pregnant - Currently sexually active - Screen positive for asymptomatic BV (not a transmitted infection).

The aim of the study is to learn more about and identify BETTER ways to keep young women healthy and reduce sexually transmitted infections.

Sign-up information can be found on Craig's List or by emailing Bravostudy2008@yahoo.com

Check out the info and let your female friends and family know about BRAVO - the best prevention is protection!

Wow inSpot Wow!

2008-10-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am declaring this week inSpot week in the ISIS office. And you know that inSpot has to up to something big to get this title so early in the week! First, on Monday Plos Medicine, a peer reviewed open access journal, published an article on inSpot. Click here to read it! Now, inSpot is getting some heavy attention from major media players.

Check out these links:
inSpot on ABC News
inSpot on MSNBC
inSpot on CNN Health

Announcing the new ISIS myspace page

2008-10-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

Internet Sexuality Information Systems, Inc. (ISIS) is excited to announce the launch of our new MySpace page!

Definitely check out the site to hear and see the latest and greatest ways to practice safe sex and find answers to sexually related questions that you might not be able to ask any of your friends or family.

We showcase some of the winners of the Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest as well as the winners of some of our latest contests and the messages are tight. There are photos from the 2008 Sex::Tech Conference held in San Francisco and the latest info on what ISIS is getting ready to launch in the coming months.

We hope you enjoy and visit often, tell your friends to log on as well.

See you soon!

Blessings,

AfroPeruvian Queen

Blessings,

AfroPeruvian Queen

Sexperience: A New Online Sex Education Show

2008-10-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

The Sexperience starts off by warning visitors that "This site features very frank and occasionally explicit accounts of personal experiences of sex -- parental guidance is recommended." What follows are 6 episodes of The Sex Education Show, which talks about sex in the most frank and honest way I've seen in a long time. In the first episode a few young men openly acknowledged that most of the information they know about sex comes directly from porn. The kids talk about how friends share sexually explicit content via cell phones and myspace and how readily available this content is to them. The show then goes on to prove a poignant and valuable point. They show young men pictures of penises varying in size and asked the boys to pick out the average size penis for a British male. It turns out that the boys picked a penis that was 2 inches bigger than average. They had a similar test for breasts and without fail the kids picked the surgically enhance breasts as average. It was really amazing to watch the kids begin to understand that their views of average and how they saw their own bodies had been skewed by porn and advertising. And this was just episode 1!

The Sex Education Show is awesome, in a time where porn is ubiquitous you have to make good information frank and maybe sometimes down right explicit to get the point across. Innuendo and vague references will not do.

Check out The Sex Education Show!

Don't Try and Hide the Digital Divide

2008-10-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

On the other side of the pond, the U.K. to be exact, an innovative look at a major social dysfunction is being tackled by a cohort of like-minded techies. Digital Inclusion a non-profit organization based in the U.K. has created a very interesting video on what the "digital divide" really means on a global scale.

Not surprising, the one in five of us, worldwide, who live "without" technology, i.e., Internet access, cell phones, GPS systems, ATM machines -are the poorest and least educated.

And the fact that technology is increasingly taking over public agencies that serve this population is even more disturbing, even though the agencies themselves are increasing productivity once they "find" the unwired population.

Goverment uses Facebook to spread safe sex message

2008-10-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

Check out this project of the Queensland Government. They're using Facebook, Myspace and other internet sites, as well as bars and local pubs to advertise their new safe sex campaign,"Safe Sex. No Regrets." I think its pretty great that virtual spaces are starting to get similar attention as real spaces. I mean there really isn't that much difference, virtual or not people hang out and meet folks there.

Read full article here.

SF City Clinic and ISIS get Kudos from NY Times!

2008-09-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

Responding to the overwhelming amounts of health information on the web and the difficultly this creates in distinguishing between accurate and inaccurate information, the Ny Times health section put together a list of the "six of the most interesting and potentially useful online health resources." ISIS is proud that SFCityClinic.org not only made the cut but is number 3 on the list! We, here at ISIS worked hard in partnership with SFDPH on the site design and content development for sfcityclinic.org. So, thank you Ny Times for the nod!

Gamer Youth do More Good for the World

2008-09-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

A national survey about teen gaming trends has had some surprising results. The study, conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, and supported by the MacArthur Foundation looked at the varied experiences of young gamers and the social impressions that gaming can leave.

For just a taste, here are some tidbits:
76% of teens play games with others at least some of the time
44% of teens play games where they learn about societal issues
52% of teens play games where they need to think about moral and ethical issues

And..."the survey indicates that youth who have these kinds of civic gaming experiences are more likely to be civically engaged in the offline world. They are more likely than others are to go online to get information about current events, to try to persuade others how to vote in an election, to say they are committed to civic participation, and to raise money for charity."

Want to read more?
The press release
The full survey report (PDF)
MacArthur grantmaking in digital media and education

STDtest.org is making a splash in San Francisco

2008-09-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

Check out our fearless leader on one of her recent STDtest.org related TV interviews!

City’s Newest STD Resource Offers Online Testing

2008-09-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Check out what is new with ISIS! We are super excited about the launch of our new project STDtest.org!

City’s Newest STD Resource Offers Online Testing

Everyone Can “Pay it Forward” While “Playing It Safe”

San Francisco, CA – San Francisco STD officials will unveil the City’s newest system to ensure that San Francisco residents have better access, greater convenience, and easier choices in personal STD testing for people at risk for syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV and herpes.

A confidential online testing resource, www.STDTest.org, is a collaboration between Internet Sexuality Information Services, Inc. (ISIS) and the San Francisco Department of Public Health - STD Prevention and Control. It will be presented Wed. Sept. 24, 11:30 a.m. at Gotham Tattoo Parlor (3991 17th St. at Market), one of seven participating lab testing locations.

Through STDTest.org, individuals print their own lab slips and locate a nearby testing site to provide their samples. Test results then arrive within three to five days, accessible online by a unique identifier (PIN). HIV test results are delivered on the phone by a trained counselor. The Department of Public Health will ensure all persons who test positive for an STD receive information on treatment options as soon as possible, whether through City Clinic or their own healthcare provider.

“STDTest.org demonstrates an effective partnership to match new technology and creative resources with local prevention, testing and treatment options, particularly for gay men and young adults,” said Deb Levine, ISIS Executive Director. “Providing accessible and free tools that empower people to take charge of their own sexual health is key in reducing disease in our community.”

After several years of declining syphilis rates in San Francisco, the number of reported cases of early syphilis for the first half of 2008 was 274, up nearly 35% compared to the same period in 2007. In 2007, 595 cases of rectal chlamydia and 494 cases of rectal gonorrhea were diagnosed among men who have sex with men in the city, while the rate of chlamydia among African-American adolescents was over 7 times that of white adolescents.

Through a safe, easy, and secure online payment mechanism, STDTest.org users can “Pay it Forward”-- donating a test to family, friends, loved ones, or someone in need-- allowing the entire community to benefit from information and services available.

“While frequent testing for individuals can ensure individual sexual health and disease prevention, we also recognize most testing services do not come without a price,” said Levine. “We remain committed to offering STDTest.org for free to any San Francisco resident in need of testing, especially those reluctant or unable to seek medical care for STDs, relying upon community generosity instead of usage fees." In-kind services have already been donated by Paypal, and a starting “Pay it Forward” donation from an anonymous funder.

Chilean Youth Express Themselves via Photosharing Site

2008-09-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last week there was an article in the New York times called In a Tangle of Young Lips, a Sex Rebellion in Chile. The article outlines how Chile, previously one of "Latin America's most sexually conservative countries," has recently become a hot bed of sweaty teens that dance and grind and make out publicly--- a lot. There seems to be a cluster of reasons for the so called sexual explosion: the coming of democracy after Pinochet's reign, lack of proper sex education and fotolog.com. Apparently, teens arrange large scale parties on this site and then post pictures of their escapades. I don't know... metaphorically speaking it seems that sites like fotolog.com are the hammers that built the house and you can't very well blame the tool for junky architecture.
What is really interesting to me about the article to me were Dr. Arias comments:
Dr. Arias did a study of the Fotolog phenomenon, scrutinizing the kinds of photos teenagers are posting, even the angles and distances of the pictures — all of which are part of an “identifiable” language, he said. “The kids of today are expressing their sexuality in erotic ways for the whole world to see.”
It seems really intriguing to think of the images that kids post as a common language. It could be really interesting to see how norms are set, defined and then followed. I'm not advocating teenage public promiscuity for research purposes, but I am interested in how kids think about sex and talk about it with each other.

ISIS Animation

2008-09-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be a nice change to do an ISIS process blog. We always have a lot of balls in the air around here. We're really lucky around here and get to work on amazing projects that tend to have creative and fun aspects to them. We are currently working with several partners on a research project that will live in Myspace. Basically, we are trying to harness and shape the power of web 2.0 represented by the communicative powers of Myspace to get people talking about sexual health and HIV. And the interesting kicker is that the research limb of this project will try to measure the effects.

For the project we are creating an animation that will be sort of a serial drama. So far the process of creating this has been a fun challenge for me. I started pretty green, with very little knowledge of the world of animation- don't get me wrong I love cartoons but I didn't know what we into developing them. We found an amazing company to work with Rudner Design Works and they are helping us put the pieces together. They are slowly pulling images out of my head and putting them on paper. I even got to write my first ever script! Check out the first images for the first installment of the series.

Planned Parenthood takes care of your down theres

2008-09-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Planned Parenthood wowed me today. I saw Take Care Down There for the first time this morning and gobbled up all 9 of the videos. TCDT addresses sexual health issues that are important to young people, while making solid fun of 'adults'...while trusting that, yeah, sometimes they do have good answers.

The short starburst-y clips touch on masturbation, queerness, communication in bed and include simple messages like "women should get tested once a year, and men should get tested before starting a new relationship." And while that's pretty basic, it's also pretty dang palatable.

There is also an amazing song which includes lovely names for our mentionables like, furry pink canoe, hum diddler, panty hampster and love-log.

Oh, and the site has a handy zip code search for a clinic near you along with a check list of what to bring with you ('friend' makes the list) and an ask a nurse function.

Grand slam. I dig it.

inPrivate on the new IE8

2008-09-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last week Microsoft released their biggest Internet Explorer update since 2006, IE8 Beta. One of the new features that has folks smiling and sheepishly looking at the floor is "InPrivate" mode, that has been affectionately dubbed "Porn Mode." InPrivate or Porn Mode lets you tread the dark corners (well all corners) of the Internet stealthily, with out leaving a trace on your computer. The official jargon behind the idea is that you can buy gifts for your spouse without them accidentally stumbling upon the Amazon purchase page. Or you can buy those special romantic concert tickets on a shared computer without your browser's history giving you away.
Um...sure that's what people will use it for...
Sure you could use this to hide gifts and plans to surprise your mate but really, more often than not, folks will probably use this feature to cruise and surf porn sites in inappropriate places (or on borrowed computers)with impunity. Or play games at work. Haha the things we will do when no one is watching. But be careful if you work at a large company because even if your cookies aren't stored on your computer you can still be tracked through your company's server.
If this feature catches on (Firefox and Safari have something similar) it could prove disaterous to small internet sites that use advertisement as their main source of revenue. This new feature blocks the data tracking cookies that allow advertisers to track your browsing habits. I'm ok with that I think...

IE8 Beta

Ez Texting makes group texting a snap

2008-08-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Ez Texting is a new, easy to use group texting platform ripe for the picking. The platform is easy to use (I signed up for a trial in like 5 seconds) and is much less costly that other offers out there (2.5 cents per message). Ez Texting also offers two-way text which infinitely increases the type of work you can do with it.

It's simple: Sign up. Upload the numbers of the people you want to reach. Compose. Blast off!

The folks at Ez Texting suggest that their program could be used in schools to send out important messages to students; for real estate agents wanting to keep their clients up to date with new listings; or for event promotion and group data gathering.

Potentially a great solution for non-profits on a budget or just individual networking. With so many platforms springing up its hard to know which to try. Nice that Ez Texting offers a free trial to the curious.

Happy Friday folks!

Teen Health Info 24/7

2008-08-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

United Kingdom-based Web site www.teenagehealthfreak.org is making interesting strides towards providing teens with accurate and age appropriate health information.

The site has a "diary" of a hypochondriac 15-year-old boy. This totally caught my eye and I thought it could be a cool way to convey information. But I must admit the "diary" leaves a little to be desired. The "diary" needs to go further and put a little more trust in readers. Kids are smart and mature and they can smell an adult trying to speak their lingo a mile away. The site also has a forum for young people to e-mail health-related questions and receive answers from a health expert. There is also a companion site www.youthhealthtalk.org,that contains videotaped interviews with young people talking about their lives and health concerns. Some of the videos are tapes of actors which is a little dissapointing but maybe they are just seeding the site to get the ball rolling.

Mobile games about HIV/AIDS expanded to Africa

2008-08-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

ZMQ, a company that has had a lot of success creating mobile games in India, has expanded four of their HIV/AIDS education games to African networks, including Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia.

ZMQ has a very forward thinking model, "The company is also focused on developing innovative ICT products for new markets of the world at the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid by successfully reaching out to grass-root, under-privileged, and marginalized communities; based on viable and self-sustaining business models in support of the social cause."

With a partnership with a major mobile operator in India, ZMQ was able to offer the gaming tools to the public for free of charge.

One of the games is based on Cricket, super popular in India. It works in items like condoms or faithful characters to move game play along.

For an expanded case study see ShareIdeas, a fast growing wiki that showcases mobile projects with social agendas.

CondomCondom: A New Multimedia Campaign to Promote Condom Use in India

2008-08-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

The BBC World Trust has put together an interesting and rounded multimedia campaign called CondomCondom. The CondomCondom campaign sprinkles whimsy and humor on a difficult subject- condom use- and makes it not only palatable but entertaining and fun. They have even made a CondomCondom ringtone. The ringtone is a medly of people singing the condom over and over again. The description doesn't do it justice because really after a minute it just makes you giggle. I think making people laugh could go a long way toward changing attitudes towards condoms. The project was supported by National AIDS Control Organisation and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

View and Vote - top Teensource condom designs!

2008-08-15T13:40:00.001-07:00

The California Family Health Council's 2008 Condom Cover Art Contest is underway, and the clock is ticking to choose your favorites from the top 45 entries on the TeenSource contest hub.

The contest was designed to give young adults the opportunity to educate their peers about STDs through art. Participants aged 13-25 sent in their creative ideas and are in the pool for one of 6 $500 awards that will be presented at an upcoming press conference in Los Angeles.

Voting ends September 2, and trust me, it isn't easy to choose. Vote now!

Whyville is Once again Ripe Testing Groud

2008-08-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

Whyville is a popular online community for younger teens, loosely centered on science and exploration. Like any cluster of pre-teens and teens (physical or virtual) Whyville is full of persona testing and attempts to form and understand community. Whyville seems like amazingly interesting groud to study how pre-teens and teens share information and what information they share in this world of UGC. Check out this study by Professors at USC and the University of Pennsylvania. They are using Whyville as a case study to research "tweens and reproductive health in virtual worlds."

Civic Engagement on the Move and SexINFO

2008-08-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Aspen Institute recently published Civic Engagement On The Move, a report of the roundtable on Mobile Media and Civic Engagement. SexInfo is included as a case study of Civic and Engagement and the New Mobile Activism.

(Quoted From the Aspen Institute's summary of the book)
Civic Engagement on the Move looks at how leading edge practitioners are using mobile media to engage citizens to solve problems, bridge differences and strengthen community. Mobile media technologies provide new tools for journalists, government and nonprofit agencies, civic organizers, elected officials, activists and ordinary citizens to inform, to reach out to others and to galvanize community action on a wide range of issues. Civic Engagement on the Move, written by J.D. Lasica, details the hallmarks of successful mobile campaigns around civic engagement and provides case studies of several successful and emerging initiatives, including those that came out of the recent Aspen Institute Roundtable on Mobile Media and Civic Engagement. Noted experts in the field add their insights on using mobile media, with a list of “Mobile Advocacy Dos and Don’ts” by Katrin Verclas of MobileActive and “A Mobile Media User’s Guide” by Jed Alpert, CEO of Mobile Commons.

Click here to read the report online and here to download a pdf

U.S. Teens Have More STDs

2008-07-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Everything is bigger in the U.S. Yes, we need 22 ounces of coffee, yes please super size that, yes my mc-mansion can eat your mc-mansion. But the substantial size gap between the pregnancy rate of U.S. teens is frightening when compared to the pregnancy rates of other industrialized nations.

Check out the results of Advocates for Youth and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte sponsored annual study tour. The tours go to France, Germany, and the Netherlands to explore why adolescent sexual health outcomes are so much more positive in the three European countries than in the U.S.

Here are some staggering facts:

Syphilis

In the United States, the teen syphilis rate is over six times higher than that of the Netherlands, over five times higher than the rate in former West Germany, and nearly three times higher than that in former East Germany. Data are not available for France.

Gonorrhea

In the United States, the teen gonorrhea rate is over 74 times higher than that in the Netherlands and France, over 66 times higher than the rate in former West Germany, and over 38 times higher than that in former East Germany.

Chlamydia

In the United States, the teen chlamydia rate is over 20 times higher than that in France. Data are not available for Germany or the Netherlands.

These statistics combined with the fact that both teens in Europe and The U.S. start having sex at roughly the same time seems to clearly point out that our all or nothing attitude is not serving our teens well.

HIV is Still a big deal!

2008-07-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Check out episodes 1 & 2 of HIV Big Deal, Public Health Solutions' HIV prevention project for gay
men.

The Morning After, Episode 1:

The Test, Episode 2:

Underwear and Sex::Tech '09!

2008-07-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

We asked people "what would your undies say if they had the last word" in safe sex and STI prevention. As it turns out our undies had a lot to say because the 500+ entries to the campaign gave them a voice. These undies have spread across the Internet and along with them ideas of safe sex, STI prevention and all around healthy attitudes toward sex are reaching viral proportions. The 500+ entries have gotten over 650,000 engagements through votes, views, reviews and content created and entries can be seen in close to 700 different places online. I'm attaching the full press release and an image of our winning pair!

With the success of this contest, we at ISIS, were again reminded of the need to talk to young people about sex and sexual health. We see that the Internet and mobile technologies have strengthened youth networks, provided new avenues for expression, and increased youth access to tools and information designed to improve their sexual health. ISIS would like to announce that the second Sex::Tech conference will be held March 22 & 23 in San Francisco. Sex::Tech will explore available tools and methods for reaching youth with culturally appropriate STD/HIV prevention and sex education interventions from a youth perspective, with input from public health professionals, educators, researchers, and technology developers.

Here is a little bit about the winners of the inBrief underwear design contest:

Grand Prize winner Tina Nguyen (Pomona, CA) designed Riding Safely, a line of men's and women's underwear that lets partners know they need a ticket to ride. Ms. Nguyen will receive $1000 (scholarship or cash equivalent) and 12 pairs of women's underwear with her design.

Image Buzz winner Dan Brown (Corvallis, OR) designed The Real Reason Dinosaurs Went Extinct, that ponders what if dinosaurs knew about safe sex? Dan will receive $250 (scholarship or cash equivalent) for the best entry among the top 100 generating the most attention across the Internet as determined by the ISIS expert selection panel.

Community Sweepstakes winner Chrissy Olsen (Muncie, IN) will receive $250 (scholarship or cash equivalent) from among everyone participating in the contest in any way (whether viewer, reviewer, or voter) as selected by Brickfish.

FrontlineSMS Empowers People Around the Globe

2008-06-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

Kiwanja.net has announced the release of the latest version of FrontlineSMS, a highly versatile, two-way group messaging system. Ken Banks, Kiwanja founder and originator of the FrontlineSMS concept says, "This new release has been a year in the making, and is the result of over two years worth of feedback from the NGO community. Not only is this an exciting day for us, but also for the countless grassroots NGOs out there who desperately need this kind of technology to help them make the first step onto the mobile technology ladder."

So what is Frontline SMS?
It basically turns a labtop and a mobile phone or modem into a communications hub. It runs on a laptop without the internet, so it is perfectly suited for mass communications in areas of the world where internet is unreliable and electical power often fails.

With FrontlineSMS, free to NGOs in developing countries, people can send messages, conduct surveys and orchestrate two-way communications campaigns with ease.

So far FrontlineSMS has been used by organizations in over forty countries for causes as different as healthcare worker coordination, election monitoring and market pricing for rural farmers and fishermen. The online tour takes you through the intuitive system and illustrates the just how easy (AND POWERFUL!) it is.

Yay FrontlineSMS!! Access meets elegance!!

ISIS Selected for BAVC Nonprofit Institute

2008-06-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

ISIS has been selected to participate in the first Nonprofit Institute for New Media Applications hosted by the Bay Area Video Coalition! The institute will bring together 10 organizations to dream up new ways of incorporating mobile and new media technologies into everyday operation.

So for 6 intensive days over a three-week period in July, we will be immersed in development/mentorship/prototyping and we get to cavort around with the other selected groups, including folks from ACLU, Hosteling International, CEO Women, Center for Asian American Media, Youth Together and more!

Two special industry guests include Katrin Verclas, queen of all things mobile, and Beth Kanter, the last word in nonprofit technology strategy.

We'll keep you updated here with how our prototyping project is coming along. All I can say at this point is: Yes, it will have to do with mobile. :)

eTouch helps young people discuss touchy subjects

2008-06-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

A new wireless, touch screen program has been piloted at National Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Researchers say that when young people answer questions using the device, risk of injury, depression and drug and alcohol use were more often identified by teens, thus opening the door for practitioners to discuss sensitive topics.

The system was more successful at identifying risky behaviors than were time-strapped doctors. Although neither report that I read (Columbus Dispatch or AMNews) talked about using the system for identify STD/HIV or sexual health risk taking specifically, it appears perfectly suited.

As long as privacy for young people can be assured as they are using the tool, and that doctors have alone time with their teen patients, the tool could definitely help open some doors for discussion. Family and peer support around sexual health are crucial to young people's decision making abilities, but there are growing technology trends (texting!) that encourage young people to take more control and get what they need in intimidating clinical settings.

Another Tech Mash-up for a Good Cause

2008-06-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

What happens when you put the following groups in a (hypothetical) bag and shake it up real good?

The Partners:

MTV's Staying Alive Foundation is a multimedia HIV and AIDS prevention campaign and is itself a partnership between MTV Networks International, Family Health International, the Kaiser Family Foundation, UNAIDS, UNFPA.

Facebook Causes lets Facebook users show there support for causes and non-profits they care about by joining there pages and facilitating donations.

SpinVox is a platform that converts your voice into text. The cool thing about it is that you call into their line and speak your message and SpinVox can then post a text version of your spoken message to your blog, send a text to all your friends or update your social networking profile. So our knobby overworked fingers can take a break.

What comes out of that bag after a good shake is StandByWhatYouSay.com.
Here is a little snippet from the press release:

MTV's Staying Alive Foundation, SpinVox and Causes on Facebook yesterday announced the launch of their joint campaign, 'Stand By What You Say'. The groundbreaking initiative encourages young people to speak openly about sex, sexual health and HIV/AIDS, with a view to increasing awareness and breaking down the stigma and discrimination which so often accompanies the disease.

The campaign uses SpinVox to convert the voice messages that people leave in to text. Those that speak up are then asked to bolster their support by pledging money to the Staying Alive Foundation, MTV's HIV and AIDS charity which allocates grants to youth-led organisations who work to raise awareness on a local, grass-roots level. SpinVox itself will be 'standing by what it says' to match funds raised to the value of $50,000.

Callers are greeted by 2008 Staying Alive Foundation Ambassador Kelly Rowland, who prompts them to leave a message at 513-729-6417. The voice messages are converted to text and posted on a bespoke Staying Alive Blog http://www.standbywhatyousay.com by SpinVox. Topics such as 'sex secrets,' 'one night stands' and 'condoms' will act as conversation starters and encourage debate among global youth audience. Different themes and questions will be posed throughout the campaign to keep the contributions
coming.



I think that anything that helps people speak positively about sex and their sexual health is a good thing.
And this is a really interesting tech twist.  I don't know yet if speaking your message and then having it
converted to text is really better/different than typing.  But I will keep watching and seeing what kinds of
messages come rolling in.

Arse Electronika

2008-06-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

There are some moments that I love living in the bay area. Well, I love being in bay area all the time but there are some moments when this love is intensified. One of said moments was when I read about Arse Electronika 2008 Do Androids Sleep with Electric Sheep?
Critical Perspectives on Sexuality and Pornography in Science and Social Fiction.

First my little nerdy heart just about jumped out of my chest with the Philip K. Dick reference, and then I read what they said about last years conference and I was sold.
"From the depiction of a vulva in a cave painting to the newest internet porno, technology and sexuality have always been closely linked. No one can predict what the future will bring, but history indicates that sex will continue to play an essential role in technological development."

I don't know where you'll be Sept 25-28th but I for one am crossing my fingers that I will be at Cellspace attending Arse Electronika!

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance data for 2007 is available

2008-06-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, YRBS for short, has been conducted every 2 years since 1991 and aims to describe the health related behaviors of high school students in the United States. This year for the first time some trend analysis is allowing us to see changes in risk behavior for three racial groups, African Americans, Hispanic or latinos and whites.

The study found decreases in key sexual risk behaviors among several groups:

Decreases occurred overall in the percentage of black students who has ever had sexual intercourse (66 percent in 2007; 82 percent in 1991); and who had sex with four or more people during their lifetime (28 percent in 2007; 43 percent in 1991.)
Decreases occurred in the percentage of white students who had ever had sexual intercourse - 44 percent in 2007; 50 percent in 1991; and who had had sex with four or more people in their lifetime - 12 percent in 2007; 15 percent in 1991.

Additionally, Latino students reported less exposure to comprehensive sex education that included information about HIV and AIDS, and also had lower rates of condom use than other groups. The telebriefing explains some of why this might be and makes for interesting reading.

You can read a transcript of the telebriefing from June 4th, and also check out fact sheets, methodology, comprehensive results, etc. And here is the press release for the boiled down version.

These data are an invaluable resource for anyone working on improving the health status of youth in this country.

I Learned all I Know About Sex on YouTube

2008-06-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

I found these two STD info videos on Youtube. I was struck by the difference in styles and as a result the difference in the quality of interaction. There seems to be an interesting lesson in a comparison of these two approaches.

While checking these out I was reminded that before I got my wisdom teeth pulled I looked the procedure up on youtube (this is a hilarious activity, I highly recommend it as a perfect time killer.) I was a little nervous about going under and went to youtube to have people tell me that it was going to be ok, for a community of sorts. I wanted to see people not unlike myself go through this procedure, come out unscathed and tell me a funny story about it. I have to believe that others are thinking along similar lines and go to Youtube (and every hub of UGC) as a link to a collective semi-anonymous friend. I had already seen the official medical videos about tooth extraction and went to youtube to hear from a friend. If you look in the comments of the first video there seems to be a friendly back and forth banter. It reminds me of people weighing out the value of some old folk wisdom. People are engaged with the information in a way that is not apparent in the second. Maybe the lesson for public health is that people are looking for friends to share info. and not always someone official behind a desk.

HIV and STD guessing games

2008-05-28T16:05:00.001-07:00

I have two tidbits today:

The first is that in the UK you can now send in a picture of your STD symptoms using your cell phone or a digital camera and have a doctor look at them. In response you will receive advice, or if it's really obvious, a prescription via email. There's a fee...but if you're choosing this route over inaction it seems best to use a high res camera, rather than your cellphone camera!

Another new guessing game (with a much different purpose) is the mtvU project Pos or not. The site presents photos of people and a little information about them. Then you are supposed to guess whether or not the person is HIV+. After guessing you get see if you were right. After several guesses you are given a zip code search box so that you can find a testing site in your area. Perhaps not being able to guess others' status reminds us that we don't always know our own.

California Supreme Court overturns Prop 22

2008-05-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

SUPREME COURT RULED TODAY
"in contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual’s sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights. We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples"

Same-Sex Marriage in California

United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation help expand the mobile revolution

2008-05-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

ISIS is proud to be included in the report produced by the United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation titled Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use.

The forward authored by Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, and United Nations Foundation Chairman Ted Turner, underlines the critical time we are in; a turning point for how technologies, particularly mobile networks, are connecting critical health systems and slashing away at digital divisions around the globe.

The report showcases 11 mobile projects from around the world and shares the results of a global survey about how NGOs are using mobile technologies.

So, put up your feet, grab a hot chocolate (or an iced tea depending on where you are) and learn about how mobile phones are helping to improve HIV/AIDS care, conserve the environment and wildlife, reach youth with sexual health information, prevent violence, connect clinics and rural health care workers, deliver food in war zones...and so much more.

Big smiles.

My avatar really thought your avatar was charming but...

2008-05-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

Forgive me if I cast a skeptical eye towards omnidate.com Its a free dating service that allows members to browse profiles in the traditional way, but then here is the extra special hook, instead of trading emails or meeting in person you can ask people on a virtual date. Apparently, avatars can flirt, blow kisses and roll their eyes etc. Is it just me or is something weird about gussying up your avatar and sending them on a hot date with the avatar of your potential new love while your actual self is sitting in a dinner stained t-shirt and ill fitting sweat pants. I know, I know, I'm a little jaded but really I have a hard time seeing how 2 idealized versions of self meeting in some idealized realm can equal love in the plain old real world. It is the same reason The Bachelor never actually marries the final rose recipient(yes, I know except for Kristin and Ryan, but thats different.) For more info check out this article, it seems that people disagree with me.

Also, the feelings of intimacy (if there could be any) one might feel after allowing their avatars to pour out digitized versions of heart felt emotion probably won't translate to the real world and that reminded me about this current.com video about texting and love.

Textual harassment in schools

2008-05-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

The New York times reported today that over 35 percent of kids aged 11 to 18 have been sexually harassed. Boys and girls report similar levels but girls and sexual minorities suffer harsher consequences of this harassment. And it's not new to hear that besides verbal and physical abuse, young people are being sexually harassed on websites and by text message.

How have social networking sites and text messaging allowed bullies to get away with more? The schools are legally bound to protect their students from sexual harassment, but is the virtual nature of harassment sliding under the radar?

Regardless, how can young people protect themselves? Unlike a pinch in the hallway, news of a nasty Myspace comment can spread really fast. A devastating text message can come in during a class leaving us alone with our phones.

Some sites allow us to block or erase comments. We can take people off of our gchat list, we can defriend the person or erase their phone number from our vast collection. And we can tell someone and ask for support.

For more about the recent rise in cyber-bullying the New York Times also published this solid article. See also, this special edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health. Or the CDC's set of youth violence prevention resources.

Panel debates effectiveness of abstinence education April 24, 2008

2008-04-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Magic Eightball,
Will abstinence only education ever end?
Resopnse: Out look is cloudy

By Cheryl Wetzstein
A House hearing on the effectiveness of abstinence education loosed a flurry of statistics, studies and anecdotes, but concluded yesterday with little movement on the contentious issue.

"Maybe we should just have a block grant" and let states use sex education funding for the kind of programs they want, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman, California Democrat, said near the end of the four-hour hearing.

The "let the states choose" idea followed powerful testimonies from three panels of witnesses, including one composed of leading medical and public health officials.

Republicans complained that the hearing was lopsided, but the three witnesses who supported abstinence - Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican; researcher Stan Weed; and Charles Keckler of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - were assisted by friendly comments and questions from numerous Republican committee members who made a point of staying at the hearing.

Most of the health professionals argued that since major studies have not found abstinence education to be effective in changing teens' behaviors, the federal government should stop funding it and instead fund more-effective comprehensive sex education.

Mr. Weed and others brought up successful abstinence findings, and noted that pervasive sex and AIDS/HIV education, which stresses condom use, haven't blunted the nation's growing sexual disease epidemic.

Two witnesses - Max Siegel and Shelby Knox - testified to the harmful effects of abstinence education. Mr. Siegel, 23, said he contracted AIDS from his first sexual experience.

"I took out a condom but he ignored it," he said of his older male partner.

"I knew enough to suggest a condom," Mr. Siegel said, but because abstinence education didn't address the issue, "I had no idea how to discuss condoms with my partner."

Ms. Knox said officials in her Texas school stressed virginity pledges, but in reality, children took the vows because of peer pressure and then felt guilty when they had sex. Children were also shamed, she said.

In one meeting, a teacher asked a female student which toothbrush she would use - a filthy one or a "pristine" one. His message was that "If you have sex before marriage, you are a dirty toothbrush," Ms. Knox said.

In his remarks, Rep. Mark Souder, Indiana Republican, said a popular comprehensive sex education curriculum lists "showering together" and several noncoital sexual activities as safe for teens. Are these things appropriate to teach in schools as an alternative to abstinence education, he asked Rep. Lois Capps, California Democrat, and Mr. Brownback.

Mrs. Capps, who testified against abstinence-only education, demurred, saying she had never seen such messages taught in a school; Mr. Brownback said neither he nor most American parents would want their children taught such things.

Marcia Crosse of the General Accountability Office (GAO) said her agency has found some medical inaccuracies in federally funded abstinence materials, but HHS was actively implementing a system to ensure accuracy. Moreover, she said, while abstinence programs are gathering data on outcomes, this information is insufficient for the GAO to draw conclusions about the programs' effectiveness.

Check out WebMD's take on the issue

Another Robot Learns to Feel

2008-04-18T15:49:00.000-07:00

I Want You to Want Me is a project by by Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar commissioned by MoMa Ny for the Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition. The piece is an interactive art work that gathers information from ever accumulating online dating profiles and organizes that info into an achingly hopeful visual system.

and if you liked that check out We Feel Fine, an earlier project by Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar, that mined the web for the phrase "I feel."

Who said computers don't have hearts...

Hey there Chlamydia

2008-04-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

A little something to make you smile. Whats a PHalligator Friday without some Fun :)

Fresh Focus finalist creates promotion for InBrief

2008-04-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

Folks may remember Cyrene, animator extraordinaire, from ISIS' Fresh Focus Sex-Ed Video Contest where she was a finalist and crowd favorite for her video "Sex Monster."

Cyrene's at it again. She has made ISIS 2 promo videos for our new contest InBrief...what if ur undies had the last word. The boy-boy version hasn't gotten as much play, so here it is for your enjoyment!

And for nostagia's sake, Sex Monster:

And one more thing, please steal these by clicking on the 'share' button and post where ever you see fit. The more people exposed to this contest, the more conversations that will be started regarding sexual health, boundaries between partners and overall sexual happiness!

The deadline to design your winning panties is fast approaching (May 15th). And if you're not feeling creative, vote for your favorite entries or share them with friends.

Sex, Film and Videotape: 100 Years of Sexual Health

2008-04-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Mark the date
Thursday May 1st 8pm
at The Roxie
3117 16th St, San Francisco
ISIS presents our first public screening

Sex, Film and Videotape: 100 Years of Sexual Health

Award winning filmmaker and human sexuality expert, Dr Mark Schoen, will be presenting footage of early sexual health films from the 1900s to the present day and he will also provide narration/commentary on the footage concerning the social implications of the films.

Underwear Design Contest launches!

2008-04-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

What if your underwear really did have the last word? Too many of us miss the opportunity to talk to our partners about STD/HIV prevention and other ways of maintaining a rockin' sex life.

inBrief is an underwear design contest where you get to design your own STD/HIV prevention slogan or sexual health motto on a pair of boxers, underpants or a T-Shirt. The winning design gets a 1000 bucks and we'll make a dozen pairs of your design! You have until May 15th!

We've partnered with Brickfish to run this contest because (they rock) each entry can be shared in multiple ways. You can email entries, blog them, and bookmark them. This way, sexual health messages can take on a course of their own! Brickfish even maps how viral the entries become and you can follow their progress.

Cyrene, of Fresh Focus Video Contest fame made us this sweet animation. (Check out her previous work, "Sex Monsters"). Feel free to re-post this video. Click 'share' for the embed code. Or, steal our press release.

And now...start making undies.

Deb Chimes in on the Podcast "The Wet Spot"

2008-04-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

Check out this podcast featuring Dr Jeff Klausner, Dr Sheana Bull of University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Dr John Santelli and our one and only Executive Director Deb Levine.

Online network mapping pays off

2008-03-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

ISIS certainly packed a double whammie with the Fresh Focus Sex-Ed Video Contest that concluded in January. Not only did we get 70 incredible videos from young people all over the country and Canada, but we developed our own unique marketing strategies in the process.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has written up our success story in a fund raising focused article titled New Rules of Attraction.

And one thing definitely leads to another, as Deb says about the some of the attention we've been getting from new funders, "This is a result of the visibility we generated through the contest and our positioning ourselves as thought leaders online."

Amazingness!

My Name is ... and I am a TXT Addict

2008-03-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

I saw a little Internet squabble a-brewin' and I couldn't help but put my two cents in, obscure though it may be.

Recently, in The American Journal of Psychiatry there was an editorial piece called "Issues for DSM-V: Internet Addiction." I will admit that momentarily I was afraid. I started thinking of the budding carpal tunnel in my left wrist, the appointment to the eye doctor I need to schedule and the semi permanent slouch I've developed. I was like great now I am not only a nerd but I have a mental illness.

The diagnosis "Internet Addict" is defined (in this editorial) as "a compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder that involves online and/or offline computer usage and consists of at least three subtypes: excessive gaming, sexual preoccupations, and e-mail/text messaging. All of the variants share the following four components: 1) excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives, 2) withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension, and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible, 3) tolerance, including the need for better computer equipment, more software, or more hours of use, and 4) negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation, and fatigue."

And this is where the squabble begins. Dr Petra (whose blog I <3 )is quick to take up arms and defend us technophiles and computer nerds. Her response was "My problem with measuring concepts like this are they are often too vague to give us helpful insights into behaviours. For example someone might use a game or email excessively because they have some spare time, or because they’ve just got a new piece of technology, or because they’re involved in a long distance relationship."

Dr Petra seems to be forgetting one important thing - which is in order for something to qualify as a mental illness and thereby make it into the DSM it has to cause significant functional impairment in one's everyday life. This is like someone that drops out of school to play World of Warcraft or gets fired for looking at porn while working or like the editorial mentioned murders someone. Not at all someone who is repeatedly checking e-mail to hear about a new job or a sick relative (Dr Petra's examples)

So, Dr Petra, I love you but I have to disagree. The DSM has had a problematic history demonizing certain sub-groups (re: homosexuality)but in this instance Jerald J. Block, M.D., author of the contentious article does not appear to be doing so. The editorial doesn't seem to point fingers at we endearing little internet trolls that can mange 15 simultaneous chats and a text message but at those whose functionality is harmed by obsessive interaction with tech stuff. Long story short-- I'm not crazy, just a nerd.

David Pogue shares tech predictions and a song

2008-03-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Jaime and I went to New Orleans for the Nonprofit Technology Conference hosted by NTEN. Despite the massive delay/flight cancellations/lost baggage things went swimmingly. We were completely sated as far as food and drink and our SexINFO presentation was amazing! We shared the stage with Katrin Verclas of Mobile Active and Ben Rigby of Mobile Voter and had great audience involvement.

Bleery-eyed and bushy-tailed, we saw David Pogue (tech writer for the New York times) perform his hit tune, "iPhone," live on a baby grand for the keynote. Here is the original version that was number one on Youtube for 7 hours. Now that's fame.

For the non-musical part of his talk, We got a dose of future predictions. Want to know what's basically hot, in a baby nutshell?

Beyond Skype/Using the internet for calling: Grandcentral (one number for ALL your numbers), T-Mobile Hotspot (b/c T-mobile doesn't have a landline service, they can undercut the rest).

Saying goodbye to TV as we know it: Hulu (free tv programming from over 50 providers).

Utterz-ly Amazing

2008-03-19T14:56:00.000-07:00

One day humans and computers will merge into one beautiful new super life form á la Battlestar Galactica. But that will undoubtedly end in some cataclysmic hellfire war that will redefine what it means to be truly human. This, thankfully, is still a long way off. Until the end days are upon us, isn't it fun watching technologies merge and reshape how people can communicate? My latest curiosity is a the site Utterz.com, which seems to up the ante on my beloved Twitter.com in the mobile posting game.
With Utterz you can post pictures, video, voice recordings and text straight from your mobile phone all via MMS which means no going online, no clunky cell phone browser and standard text messaging rates. At first glance I was in love because I mistakenly thought I could post my MMS messages straight to my blog/site/social network. I was wrong. Like Twitter you set up a profile page that houses all your Utterz and you can network with other Utter-ers. In order to post your MMS content you have to embed an Utter widget to receive and display your utterz on your personal blog/site/social network.

Check out my Frak montage Utter, I know... I got a little stage fright and couldn't think of anything to say... but the true nerds out there will smile with me.

The direct connection between Utter-ing and sexual health remains to be seen but suddenly there are amazing new vehicles for communication and public and private domains are merging. It is interesting to watch the technologies that will reshape these boundaries.

A Little Help From Our Friends

2008-03-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

We need your support! We have entered our SexINFO project into the NetSquared Mashup Challenge and would love your vote. This could provide us some much-needed development support in growing the project.

Please take a second and vote for us at the NetSquared Mashup Challenge

Note: If you're not a TechSoup member, you'll need to register to vote. Thanks, it means the world to us.

Once logged in, click here for to vote for SexInfo then click "Vote" in upper right corner.

Thanks for your support.

- The ISIS, Inc. team

SMS and Computer Based Sex Ed in Nigeria

2008-03-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

LearningAboutLiving.org is a computer based sex ed program for Nigerian youth. The site guides students and teachers through some of the rough puberty topics by offering conversation- starting texts and suggestions for activities. The topics for discussion range from: Body Image, Love/Friendship, Assertiveness and HIV/STIs. I do have to mention that though the site offers fodder for discussion the word condom never appears.

The really interesting portion of this curriculum is the text in feature. I would love to know how it works in a little more detail. But it seems that when students have questions they aren't comfortable asking an adult or in a group setting they can text their issue and receive a personalized response. In the first 2 months the service fielded 10,000 questions. I think it would be great to include the questions and responses on the site so students who didn't know how to frame their questions could learn from their peers.

Reuters inSPOT snowball - and that's a good thing

2008-03-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

On Valentine's Day Reuters touted inSPOT as another tool in the tool belt for putting the smack on rising syphilis rates in New York City. We agree, it's a sharp tool indeed.

Quick to follow Reuters was the DC culture blog Heybeus who called us inSPOT creators "tech-savvy, crotch burny San Franciscan[s]." And we totally take that as a compliment.

And the snowball gained ground... another wink and a nod from Vermont and our own local wit, SF Weekly.

More buzz = more awareness about STD and HIV notification options = more responsibility taken!

1 in 4 Teen Girls has an STD

2008-03-11T15:00:00.001-07:00

That is 1 in 4 girls here in the US. One in four of the teen girls that we see everyday- hanging out at the mall or walking home from school. These girls have clearly be done a grave disservice. These results come from a new CDC study released today that looked at the "combined national prevalence of common sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent girls." The numbers are staggering. Apparently, only roughly half the girls participating in the study acknowledged ever having sex. There is clearly some confusion about what sex is and how STDs are spread. In 2005 we see the first raise in teen birth rates in 15 years and now this study shows that we have group of confused and potentially unwell kids. What is to be done? Dare i point the finger at abstinence only education?

tech take-up and the dating curve

2008-03-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

For the first two months after my mom upgraded her cell phone she would hang up on me every time I called. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to me, it was that she couldn't figure out how her new phone worked. I always got an instant call back. Who can really blame her for not wanting to invest any energy into her phone. She can dial, and send me photos of dogs...and that's what's important.

But what happens when 50 and 60 somethings try out a new online dating site? I'm making an assumption here that the internet dating learning curve might be something like the cell phone learning curve for some older adults. It's a new way of communicating that hasn't always existed. Many dating websites are set up to be intuitive and facilitate quick communication via IM, text or internal email. Resorting to a good old fashioned phone call is not usually an option. Does this shake the boomers, or is everyone just adjusting?

Here are a few real life stories from two lovely ladies I know.

Case Study one: relative of friend, "Betty," 50s
Betty meets a nice man on Match.com. They start to exchange Match.com messages about having dinner together and Betty provides her phone number. "Bill" confirms by email that he would love to have dinner and waits for Betty's email about where. Meanwhile, Betty starts cooking dinner, gets all gussied up and waits for a phone call. They never meet.

Case Study two: relative of friend, "Anne," 60s
Anne signs up on eHarmony and learns how to search the profiles. She quickly gets confused by the prescripted stages of communication that eHarmony forces you through. After sending multiple stock messages with no replies, she abandons ship and goes on a date with a neighbor she met while walking her dogs. "How could I communicate anything personal about myself using that thing," she complained.

But there are success stories too, of course.

I regularly orchestrate multi-friend events entirely over text and things work out fine. I even have a friend who has never once talked to her boyfriend on the phone, only via text. But there is a learning curve for figuring out how to communicate on a dating site, via IM or text message (let alone figure out how to send and receive these messages). Are these skills becoming necessary for older single adults?

And this goes for all ages, but it seems that calling your date has become scarier now that you can send a text or email.

Baring it All Online

2008-03-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

Deciding when to unlink from a sig. other's blog or when to un-friend them on your various social networks is always a touchy topic. Everyone is guilty of a little internet snooping on a lost love at some point or other. So why not quit with the pretending and let that spurned loved one know exactly whats going on. Post it on your blog, uploaded it to youtube, embed it in every comment box from here to kingdom come. I'm just kidding that is no way to behave... but it was pretty funny when Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel did it: