GetSTDtested.com sponsors webisode: The 'O' Mission

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.

Don't Try and Hide the Digital Divide

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.

Planned Parenthood takes care of your down theres

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.

You asked for time to perfect your entries - Fresh Focus deadline extended!

You can now submit your Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest entries until January 7th! You've asked and we've listened...use your winter break to the fullest.

For inspiration check out a few of the latest entries here. An outstanding one was recently submitted by Antgreen.

This awesome Wed MD article points out that, "it's a lot easier to showcase flaws in sex ed curricula than offer an ideal one." So grab your camera, your phone, your video savvy friends, and tell us what YOU want from sex education.

Teen birth rates may be rising - Let the "why?" debate rage on

In the Washington Post today, an article by Rob Stein called "Teen Birth Rate Rises in U.S., Reversing 14 Year Decline" ponders just why teen birth rates might be rising. The opinions couldn't be more different.

Is it that abstinence only messages have left our teens without the tools to protect themselves, or is it that condom promotion messages are encouraging increased sexual behavior?

Allegra Madsen, ISIS' new program manager, asked John Santelli, teen health expert at Columbia University, about his thoughts on the new data:

"Multiple social and policy factors are presumably influencing the recent rise in teen birth rates," offered Santelli. "One possibility is a decline in contraceptive use. The 2005 YRBS [Youth risk Behavior Surveillance] data suggests such a decline (a small decrease in condom use and a small increase in non use compared to 2003). One factor that may have contributed to a decline in contraceptive use would be the negative information on condom and contraceptive use that many abstinence only programs include."

Another thing is also clear. This debate is being played out among adults, health professionals, politicians, etc. But what do that teens want? What do they think they need?

The Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest gives young adults (under 30) a chance to say what they want. We're asking film makers to imagine the future of sex ed, and what they think would work better. We're offering a $3500 first place prize, along with a chance to screen their videos at the Sex::Tech Conference in SF on January 22nd.

As I posted yesterday, Jennifer Garner isn't the only one who didn't get any formal sex education, check out the Fresh Focus submissions so far and judge for yourself.

Nikol and Britney will be at Sex::Tech!

Check the promo video from Midwest Teen Sex Show. Nikol and Britney will be at Sex::Tech in January to present the finalists and winners of the Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest.



We have gotten several video submissions already...check them out and plan your own!

Fresh Focus: Sex Ed Video Contest has launched!

Internet Sexuality Information Services and RH Reality Check in conjunction with Dogooder.tv present the Fresh Focus: Sex Ed Video Contest. You could win a $3500 scholarship or cash equivalent just for making a video about sex! Videos -3 minutes tops- should be submitted to DoGooder.tv by December 31st, 2007 and should follow one of two contest themes:

Theme 1: Share your sex ed experience so far. Show us how and why it sucked or rocked.

Theme 2: Redesign how sex ed could be delivered. Imagine that anything is possible.

Voting will begin on January 4th. The winning videos will premier at the Sex::Tech Conference: Focus on Youth, taking place January 22-23, 2008 at SFSU's Institute for Next Generation Internet in San Francisco to an audience of health professionals, youth activists, educators and tech wizards!

First place wins a $3500 scholarship to the educational institution of your choice (or cash equivalent) and a free trip to San Francisco to attend the conference; second place wins $1000 cash; and third prize is your choice of a Nikon P5000, a Nintendo Wii or an iPhone. Content and creative vision will be weighed more heavily than production quality. Film makers must be between the ages of 15-30. See the official rules for more details.

Check out our contest partners:
Advocates For Youth
ISIS-Inc
RH Reality Check
NSRC
SIECUS

Snag the press release HERE.

Summer assignments from ISIS-Inc.

The ISIS blog will be temporarily slowed down/inactive for the next three weeks because I'll be in India eating spicy food, battling the monsoon and taking train rides across the southern states.

So for now, I leave you with a short list of my favorite to-do suggestions:

1. ATTEND! We are now accepting abstracts for the January 2008 Sex::Tech conference which will focus on technology based STD and HIV prevention for youth and young adults. Currently you can register, submit an abstract, and tell a friend about the conference using our e-card. Stay tuned in the fall for more about our video contest which is sure to make a splash.

2. WATCH! The Midwest Teen Sex Show currently has three episodes, and serves up raucous commentary about such important issues as "The older boyfriend," "Abstinence," and "Masturbation." The site is for teens and adults and guaranteed to make you laugh/smile/crinkle your forehead. The comment threads are particularly great.

3. VOTE! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is running a revolutionary grantmaking contest focused on "disruptive innovations" designed to change the way health care is delivered. Voting for the final twelve will start in mid August. ISIS has submitted a proposal to get additional funding to expand STDtest.org, a service allowing people access to free STD and HIV testing. in San Francisco. Whether expanding STDtest.org makes the cut or not, aid this unique process and vote for your favorites!

4. EXPERIMENT! See what Cory Silverberg's sex position dolls, appropriately named A and B, are up to. You may find something nice to try.

5. COUNT! Securely keep track of who you've been having sex with using MyBlackBook.org. You can save contact information and details of the fun time you had, which will come in handy if you are ever diagnosed with an STI and need to notify your past partners. InSPOT.org, a peer to peer notification system, can help you take the leap.

Massmen vlogger shows some skin

Daniel, a Massmen blogger known for his chronicle of non-monogamy struggles and recovery from long distance hell, is taking a step by using video blogging for the first time. Meet Victor and hear a little about their trip to Montreal in this first episode:


Nico the Great, another blogger of ours, recently sero-converted. Lately he has been challenged by people with age assumptions and has been frustrated with guys' takes on online status disclosure.
Read: Age is deceiving? and Newbie HIV+ vs. Seasoned HIV+.

Trojan too sloppy for conservative-owned TV

Thanks to Babeland and NSRC for keeping us in the loop on this one. The new Trojan condom ads are not being aired on CBS and FOX because they are "inappropriate" and focus on pregnancy prevention rather than STIs. As far as I can tell, the ad doesn't address STIs or pregnancy - just not wanting to sleep with "pigs."


Sign this Planned Parenthood petition asking CBS and FOX to reconsider their stodgy position. Then send it to friends.

Here's another one, just for fun.


Update: The pig ad does run on Myspace however, which is funny considering it is also owned by Rupert Murdoch and friends.

Ask the Experts -National HIV Testing Day

National HIV testing day is June 27th. The Kaiser Family Foundation and Kaisernetwork.org will host an "Ask the Experts" webcast to discuss the revised HIV testing recommendations, public education campaigns, and new data from NASTAD.

When: Tuesday, June 26th, 3PM ET
Where: On their website
Who: There will be four panelists -

• Jill Braden Balderas, M.P.H. - Managing Editor for Kaisernetwork.org - Moderator

• Bernard Branson, M.D. - Associate Director, Laboratory Diagnostics Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Jennifer Cates, M.A., M.P.A. - Vice President, Director of HIV Policy Kaiser Family Foundation

• Murray Penner - Deputy Executive Director, Domestic Programs NASTAD

Ask questions before the program starts (or during if you get a late blooming idea) by emailing Ask @ Kaisernetwork dot org.

Television touches (briefly) sex in Second Life

I'm handing over some giant bravery points to Bonnie Ruberg of Bonnie's Heroine Sheik and Jean-Ann Mills from The Electric Sheep Company for standing their ground on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliette (a Fox News affiliate), who are really good at acting like virtual sex is the weirdest thing since jam on pizza.

The show touches on the issue of rape in virtual worlds as well as some details about virtual privates and doin' it.

Watch the Video

Dildonics Flashback

Thank you slashdong for the time warp. Check out the state of dildonics ten years ago.


Online Videos by Veoh.com

Safe Sex Fridays - dry hump demo

Thanks to defective yeti and Tremble for introducing me to PeerPressure, their lovely safe sex example, and companion literature, Furniture Humper Magazine.



For more safe sex demos check out PeerPressure5 on Myspace.