The Power of Blogs: Bloggers Unite on World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day 2008 (December 1) is now less than two weeks away! Worldwide, an estimated 33 million people are living with HIV . In the United States, an estimated one million Americans are living with HIV.

AIDS.gov is partnering with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Blog Catalog for Bloggers Unite on World AIDS Day 2008 . This event encourages bloggers from around the world to dedicate their blog posts on December 1, 2008 (World AIDS Day) to issues related to HIV/AIDS.

Our goal is to leverage the power of the blogosphere to remind people that HIV/AIDS is still a critical issue in the U.S. and around the world, and to promote HIV testing. Jan Lipkin, NIDA’s Deputy Chief, Public Information and Liaison Branch, said “NIDA and Bloggers Unite [also] share a vision for empowering individuals to make educated decisions, and we are looking forward to reaching out to the blogging community to help us educate others on World AIDS Day and beyond.”

To learn more about uniting bloggers around social causes, we spoke with Tony Berkman, of Blog Catalog (and the founder of Bloggers Unite), and David Wessner, Associate Professor of Biology at Davidson College and founder of the AIDS Pandemic Blog . David participated in Blog Action Day (which addressed the issue of poverty) and will participate in this year’s Bloggers Unite for World AIDS Day 2008.

The Power of Bloggers

According to the blog search engine, Technorati , “blogs are powerful because they allow millions of people to easily publish and share their ideas, and millions more to read and respond.” There are nearly 113 million blogs , and an estimated 13.6 million health-related blogs . A recent study by Envision Solutions, Inc. found that nearly half of all bloggers in the U.S. wrote about health at least once last year. There is tremendous potential to reach millions of people this year with HIV/AIDS information.

Tony told us that initiatives like Bloggers Unite “nurture social media into being a proactive and positive tool to raise awareness.” He also mentioned that they’ve seen an increase in participation with each Blogger’s Unite event, “because bloggers enjoy coming together as individuals to do good.”

David said, “With an issue like poverty or HIV/AIDS, different bloggers will highlight different topics and present different points of view. As an educator, I am most excited about this aspect of the World AIDS Day project. I will encourage my students to read and consider a number of the Bloggers Unite posts. I’m sure that the ensuing discussions we have as a class will be wonderful. And, hopefully, some of the students will take action as a result of our conversations.”

Get involved: Blog or Support a Blogger

Do you have a blog? If so, we hope you’ll join us in writing about HIV/AIDS for World AIDS Day on December 1. For resources to help you write your post, visit AIDS.gov or the Bloggers Unite resource page. And if you’d like more information on rates of HIV/AIDS in the U.S., please visit the CDC’s website.

If you’re not a blogger, you could ask your favorite blogger to take part, or consider starting your own blog this December 1! You can also take part by reading and commenting on World AIDS Day blog posts. We have many other new media activities for you to get involved this World AIDS Day.

Next week we’ll be talking about our Facing AIDS for World AIDS Day Campaign - join our Facebook Facing AIDS for World AIDS Day group and check our our Flickr Group for a preview!

Comments

[timethief]

Our goal is to leverage the power of the blogosphere to remind people that HIV/AIDS is still a critical issue in the U.S. and around the world, and to promote HIV testing.

I am a Bloggers Unite member who will be taking part in the Bloggers Unite on World AIDS Day and I am leaving a comment to let you know that I will be participating.

Love and peace,
tt

[dinny16]

I will join and write about my personal thoughts about aids as a medical student :) http://blog.dinny16.com/2008/05/hiv-infection-and-aids.html

[Sysbase]

That's inspiring use of blog's. I hope it goes well and bloggers get into it! Good Luck.

[Mike Riley]

To the people of AIDS.gov-

As a blogger, I feel honored and gratified that a governmental entity has decided to get involved with Bloggers Unite in our "World Aids Day" event. I am also honored and gratified that Blogging Nation is involving itself in the on-going fight against HIV/AIDS, as spearheaded by groups like AIDS.gov. Like many people, I've lost a friend or two to AIDS, and am looking forward to help raise awareness about this issue. I encourage my fellow bloggers to take time on December 1st to write about HIV/AIDS, as part of the "World Aids Day" campaign. Bloggers Unite!

-Mike Riley

[Doxy]

I would love to add a badge to my blog for this event, but the Badges link at the Bloggers Unite website does not appear to give the code necessary to do that. Am I missing something? If so, please point me in the right direction. If not, can you help get that code?

Thanks!
Doxy

[Oscar]

Doxy,

You can browse all the badges and grab the code here: http://blog.blogcatalog.com/bloggers-unite/bloggers-unite-for-world-aids-day-badges/

[Busby SEO TEST]

This is what i respect the most when all bloggers are united to support those AIDS patient. I am going to do it also in one of my blog.

[Ricky Davis]

As someone who is living with aids, this push to write about it in blogs inspired me to create my own blog. Although my blog will be more than just about hiv/aids it will be a part of it. I am looking forward to reading and finding everyones blogs posts. Is there a best practice on finding the blog posts?

[Tony Berkman]

On December 1st Bloggers Unite we will create a page where bloggers can list their posts. It will be in the Discussion area that's located on http://unite.blogcatalog.com

[ettarose]

Hello to all my fellow bloggers. I will be posting about the AIDS in Africa and what it has done to the families who live with it every day. There is still so much shame tied to this horrific disease. I for one think this leads to more and more deaths because of ignorance about this disease.

[latest research and developemt on treatments for AIDS]

Dear friends as a bloger i feel that this foram is the best to express our veiws and to provide moral support to the society where we have this disease which is considered non curable and the trauma of this thaught is the main aspect which takes lot of lifes , so we should provide support to peoples affected with this disease for providing medication and preventive measures.

[AIDS.gov]

Ricky,

We're so pleased to hear that you will starting a blog! We've written a few blog posts about "best practices" that you can find by clicking on the "blog" category listing at http://blog.aids.gov/blogging/.

And see http://blog.aids.gov/new-media-resources.html#blogs in our new media toolkit for some references that we've found particularly helpful.

We look forward to reading your blog!

[Indian Car Blog]

There is no doubt that blogging is become a very powerful tool. You guys are doing a very good job. Keep up the good work.

[Iris Carter]

I got ahead of the game with my post on 11/25 "Holiday Giving" but I will definately join in the effort on Dec. 1! Great idea!

[wilbau-transitenator]

I posted about AIDS - HIV in Africa (because some of my children are working there): They told me things like this:

About an European tourist who visited Malawi, the national parks etc. who said: "We've been now around for 28 days in Africa, but I've seen no one with AIDS."
Hm.
The people that got infected with AIDS haven't got that written on their foreheads. If you shake someones hand, take a child into your arms, you don't know if that person or that child got AIDS.
What I'm emphasizing is that "AIDS is not just a disease that kills people, it's a danger for a society in itself."

[latest treatment for AIDS research and development of HIV vaccine]

Lets unite and fight the disease ,
prevention is the priority,

[Varsha]

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God bless you all-
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[pharmacyin]

i think this is good post.i have write this at my blog.

[Phil Bolsta]

I was fortunate enough to become friends with Jim Batson, who died of AIDS in 1993. Here is a moving and powerful essay he wrote about living with AIDS that was printed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. I posted it on my blog so that others could continue to benefit from his wisdom.

http://bolstablog.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/2278/

Peace to all,

Phil Bolsta
bolstablog.com
Author of "Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything" (www.sixtysecondsbook.com)

[teresa chapman]

http://www.positivechange09.blogspot.com/

[medic]

When we commemorated the first World AIDS Day on December 1, 1988, we had little to celebrate.