The “i know” effort is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Act Against AIDS campaign, which uses multiple social media platforms to reach out to African American youth with facts about HIV/AIDS with the aim to engage them in open conversation.

“By supporting frank conversations through social media, ‘i know’ creates an opportunity for young people to talk directly with each other about the issues that fuel this still-deadly disease,” said Kevin Fenton, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. “Their ideas and involvement will be a critical part of the solution.”

The campaign uses a mix of both old and new media. Followers have a choice of using Twitter, Facebook and texting to get alerts and status updates on HIV knowledge and attitudes, as well as links to information about HIV testing and prevention. The campaign’s website allows users to identify local HIV testing sites and campaign events and video stories of those living with HIV. There are also radio and online video public service announcements that has actor Jamie Foxx calling for a new discussion on HIV.

Since the campaign’s launch on March 4, hundreds of users have become followers of the various platforms and it seems that the campaign has initially succeeded in engaging users, as can be seen with the many status re-tweets and discussion. While it is good that social media is being used in this campaign, it should also be highlighted that the campaign’s radio use is just as important, as many African-Americans still see the significance of this medium for getting out information within their community. However, it will take a longer amount of time to actually determine if both the online and radio efforts turn into offline actions.

Last year’s droughts throughout Africa were some of the worst in decades, causing higher food prices, illness among both people and animals and destroyed crops that took months to repair. To address these problems, the Agricultural Index Insurance Initiative at the Syngenta Foundation launched last week Kilimo Salama, Swahili for “safe farming”, to provide insurance plans for Kenyan farmers.

Here is how it works: When purchasing seeds from an retailer, farmers register to insure their seeds by filling in the insurance card. The registration process is completed when the farmer sends a text message on their mobile phone, and a record is created in a database. A local weather station records the rainfall and sends the data to the insurance company, which then calculates a payout according to an agronomic model. At the end of the season the farmer receives a text message if there is a payout and can pick up their payout at the original retailer where the insurance was purchased.

Kilimo Salama actually began as a small pilot project last year with a group of 200 farmers in the central region of Laikipia. Most of the farmers were highly impressed with the program, as many of them received a payout of up to 80 percent. This year the insurance program will cover at least 5,000 maize and wheat farmers in Central, Rift Valley and Western provinces, which is at high risk of drought. This program shows that even a simple tool like a mobile phone can make a big difference in the lives of many.

Keeping with the spirit of International Women’s Day, the staff throw our founder and social entrepreneur Talia Whyte a surprise “digital” anniversary party in celebration of the incredible work she has done over the years.

We will also be announcing some new initiatives in the next few weeks about engaging more women social entrepreneurs in creating innovative communication for advancing social justice.

Maria, Philip & Marjane

Controversy has not only marred the 2010 Winter Olympics because of the tragic death of 21 year old luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, but also with 200 masked protesters who smashed windows of department stores and splattered red paint across Olympic venues in Vancouver.

Police said the group marched through the shopping district, vandalizing cars and stores. Protesters also threw metal boxes on display windows of Hudson’s Bay Company, where Olympic souvenirs are sold.

Vancouver has been facing problems ever since the run-up started to the games. Lack of actual snow, hundreds of millions in losses as NBC expected to take broadcasting the games, and now the luger death spelling riots.

Vancouverians have been upset about the way the Olympic games have been handled by the government. The Olympic projects have come in well over budget.

Some feel that the money would have been better spent going to social services, particularly as the city grapples with the effects of the recession.
But now, the protests are beginning to turn violent.

Despite the violence, various activist groups have been leading largely peaceful protests since it was announced that the Games were to held in Vancouver in 2003. Many of these protesters have used viral video to effectively get their message across to a wider audience.

While most of the grievances by anti-Olympics protesters stem from the growing presence of corporate corruption in the Games, the largest resistance has come from indigenous groups in Western Canada, who claim their “stolen land” is being used by the government “for the benefit of corporations, including mining, logging, oil & gas, and ski resorts.” In addition, some activists say that Indigenous peoples suffering social ills caused by the Olympics, such as higher rates of poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation, police violence, disease, suicides and violence against women.

Many grassroots activists have been flooding the Internet with videos about their complaints. Many of which are low-budget, but effective in telling their side of the story, like this one and this one. While the Olympic Games will go on in Vancouver and Games officials are not giving in to the complaints, anti-Olympic digital activism has allowed a point of view that would otherwise not get covered in the mainstream media.

I came upon a article today about a website that is keeping an eye on Obama’s greatest hits and misses in the last 12 months.

From Boston Metro:

Two New Yorkers who volunteered for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign wanted to make sure he kept his election promises. So, they created a Web site encouraging people to rate Obama on everything from his Cabinet members to weekly radio addresses.

“We’re trying to make it as easy as Netflix,” said Chirag Patel, 34, co-founder of the TabsonObama.org. “We hope it promotes transparency, accountability and civic engagement.” He also wants to provide “deeper insights than standard Gallup polls.”

Developed by a bunch of like-minded, tech-head liberals in Patel’s Brooklyn, N.Y., loft, the site shows low favorability for the president. In fact, ex-Bush appointee, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, is the most popular…

…How does Patel rate Obama, on a scale of one to five? He’s disappointed in the lack of a public option in health care reform, campaign finance reform and troop withdrawal from Iraq. “I might give him a three … or maybe a two and a half.”

Between the ongoing health reform debacle, Martha Coakley’s Senate defeat, the escalation in Iraq, the Nobel Peace Prize and Chicago Olympics fails, we give him a 3.

How do you rate President Obama so far?

Haiti was rocked Tuesday night by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake. According to a report, Haiti’s First Lady Elisabeth Debrosse Delatour said that “most of Port-au-Prince is destroyed.”

While almost all phone lines have gone down on the impoverished island, Haitians have been able to communicate to friends and relatives around the world with the use of new media. Not only has there been a flurry of tweets and photos of the devastation posted online over night, but charitable individuals and organizations have responded quickly with their efforts to help victims.

Victims of the earthquake immediately got on Twitter, uploaded photos and YouTube videos and text messaged to give eyewitness reports on the tragedy like this one:

RAMHaiti: It’s 8:44PM and we’re still getting aftershocks!!I can hear people gathered in the distance singing prayers…people in large numbers are singing prayers downtown

In the last few hours charitable organizations have been able to make initial assessments of victims’ needs and have asked for donations, mostly through the use of digital tools.

Red Cross: Help Haiti right now, text Haiti to 90999 to give just $10 to the Red Cross

UNICEF: Donate now for Haiti on their website

Rap artist and activist Wyclef Jean was among the first to organize online when he sent out these tweets:

@wyclef Help Haiti by donating to Yele on www.yele.org follow @YeleHaiti

@wyclef Another way you can help Haiti after their 7.0 earthquake: Donate $5 by texting YELE to 501501 and by visiting www.YELE.org

News organizations that cater to Haitian communities in the United States have also taken the initiative to give their readers updated information about the earthquake’s aftermath, such as the Boston Haitian Reporter, which has been live-blogging since Tuesday night.

While a full assessment of the Haitian earthquake will be long term, this latest international incident shows the incredible value in digital activism for quick response and possibly saving lives.

Global Wire: Why is it important for more women to get involved in technology and entrepreneurship?

Juliana Bozan: I think it is really important for women to get online today because they are so many business opportunities. Women, especially in the developing world, are blogging and tweeting about issues that affect us. Just look at the Iranian protests last summer and the continuing human rights problems against women in the Middle East; many of the bloggers are women. Journalism outlets like CNN and BBC are using information on our blogs for free, and we see no profit. But now is the time to step our game, and figure out a way to create business opportunities for our words, video and audio.

GW: Tell me about your blogging experience?

JB: I used to write for a now defunct group blog for women in Brazil a couple of years back about “Brave Women,” where we would talk about problems women in the favelas like domestic violence, prostitution and single motherhood. It was great because everyone liked it and we have a lot of unique hits on the site, including from European journalism outlets. However, some of these journalism outlets reposted some of our blog posts, which was fine at first, but eventually we got tired of them taking our stuff without giving credit to our blog, the bloggers or even asking our permission to repost or paying us for reposting. We felt like we were being used, you know, like a new kind of colonialism. Since Western outlets are cutting back on having journalists in the developing world, they now seek out bloggers in countries they want to get information about. Unfortunately, it is very commonplace these days for Western journalism outlets take information from bloggers in the developing world and not give credit where credit is due.

GW: What are you hoping to take away from this Summit?

JB: I have met a couple of interesting people here who I would like to follow up within the next few days about getting help on writing a business plan. I want to look into starting an online newsletter or blog about Brazilian women social justice activists, but this time I want to look at having a better strategy for monetizing my site, so my writers will get payment and credit for their work. I would even consider having more formalized partnerships with journalism outlets.

GW: What advice do you have for other women tech entrepreneurs?

JB: Be strong, be confident and be smart about what you are doing. Don’t let others take advantage of you or tell you that you can’t do your own website. When you do that, you have failed before you’ve even gotten started.

On Sunday, thousands of gays and lesbians gathered in Washington, D.C. for the National Equality March, which was billed as the largest event of its kind since 2000. While many in the gay community were divided over the reasoning for having such a march, this was also one of the first massive gay rights protests to use social media – tools that are being used by the new generation of LGBT activists. Sunday’s protest was the latest example of the generational shift in how to communicate for social change.

Most of the organizing was done through Facebook, YouTube and other tools leading up to the march. Before and during the march, protesters could follow the march’s official Twitter feed for any logistics matters, such as getting information about purchasing subway round-trip tickets before the march to avoid long lines stations kiosks.

Throughout the day, Twitter was the main choice of communicating, as thousands of protesters either in Washington or following the events on television reflected on march highlights. Most used the hashtag #nem to follow the conversation.

loquaciousmoi “Rights for Gays
and Lesbians aren’t special rights in any way. It isn’t special to be free from
discrimination.” – Julian Bond #nem

700mtv Judy Shepard, “I”m here today
because I lost my son to hate . . . We’re all equal Americans. Gay, straight,
whatever.” #NEM

peterzimmerman Wow the speeches at #NEM are really inspiring. Gosh.
So exciting to see the outpouring of emotion at the march!

Jamal Jackson and Winston Brown moved to the United States from the Caribbean island of Jamaica to escape harassment from others about their relationship three years ago. The march was the first gay rights event they have attended as an openly gay couple. The both also used Twitter to follow what other folks were saying, as well as tweeting their own thoughts.

“I started using Twitter a year ago and I found using it to be very useful,” Jackson told Global Wire following the march. “I was able to tweet other protesters, find out where to meet my friends and navigate the city during the protest. I was able to find other people here from the West Indies, like Trinidad, Dominica and Haiti.”

For Winston Brown, tweeting had a more sentimental meaning.

“I am using Twitter because I still have closeted gay friends back home in Kingston, and they are reading my updates,” Brown said to Global Wire. “They will not feel alone anymore and might feel inspired.”