Sex::Tech

From the steady stream of attendees and teens, panel moderators, to the unflappable volunteers who braved the elements in yellow shirts, we at ISIS thank you all for making the inaugural Sex::Tech Focus On Youth Conference such a pleasure. A special thanks to our diverse group of presenters who put it all on the line, sharing trade secrets, program successes and near misses with candor and humor to an audience eager to learn.

Hopefully everyone who attended the conference will return to their roost with a head full of fresh ideas and new ways to apply all that technology and its trappings to their projects. We also hope that you were able to make some new friends by forming partnerships with the other organizations at the conference, while hearing from youth on what they need from an effective sex education program. I think it’s safe to say that fun was had by all, now just don’t forget to show off those sporty Sex::Tech tote bags.

Speaking of ‘fresh ideas’… The Fresh Focus Video Contest was a resounding success. The three finalists attended the conference and spoke eloquently about their sex education experiences and their motivations for entering the contest (besides that cash). It is fair to say that they had a message that they wanted all attendees to leave with:

Adults, listen to us, respect our opinions, and tell us EVERYTHING, not just what you think we need to know.

Ok, we’re paraphrasing but essentially to make programs and teaching tools more effective, organizations should involve young people in the creative process. Think of it this way, its like subscribing to all the blogs we’ve been listing here and always having someone around that can program your cell phone and tell you what’s cool.

Let’s face it. There are millions of sex blogs and websites on the internet these days. Instead of wasting your time surfing, go straight to Sexuality.About.com — the be-all, end-all sexuality resource, complete with essential how tos, Q & A’s and yes, even sex toy guides. Cory Silverberg with his decade of experience and training in sexual health is what really make this site special. Seriously, they’re all about facts. Luckily for you, he will also be presenting “Come As You Are – The Place of Sexual Pleasure in Online Content for Youth” at the Sex::Tech Conference. If you ever have a sex inquiry, let Cory and Sexuality.About.com break it down for you. He’s a keeper.

Speaking of Sex::Tech presenters, a full set of conference abstracts and presenter bios is available online in PDF format. Think of this as the icing on your Sex::Tech cake. Enjoy.

Digital media is here to stay. Just like adults can’t imagine life before TV, young people can’t imagine life without the Internet and all it has to offer. ShapingYouth.org is a great site that offers ways to harness digital media for the creation of educational tools. Amy Jussel’s lively exposé takes you to the edge and back, with blurbs on virtual learning environments, youth driven digital creations (like our Sex::Tech Conference and Fresh Focus Video Contest) and more!!

Shaping Youth also profiles a long list of things that make you go “hmmm”, like product placement in advertising, the vapid values that promote consumerism, stereotypes and all the other methods of branding kids’ brains. We <3 this site and you should too, as it’s another great resource for emerging trends of all kinds and how to use them to reach youth.

SexInThePublicSquare.org is just what the name says it is. No polite sex talk here. Just frank, democratic discussions of sexual health and literacy in relation to legislature, politics and human rights issues. This is a great pit stop to keep you current on sexuality legislation and politics (ever wonder what happened to the Matthew Sheppard Act?), different fields of activism (yay Fresh Focus Contest) and how those topics appear in pop culture. Bookmark it or you’ll be sorry.

After the conference you might wonder how you can possibly get more sex-tech goodness. Books Inc, one of San Francisco’s last independent book stores, will be set up at the conference selling some of our presenters books. Don’t forget to bring some spending money with you and get your read on with materials by a few of the Sex :: Tech presenters:

Logan Levkoff, “Third Base Ain’t What it Used to Be”

Audacia Ray, “Naked on the Internet: Hookups, Downloads and Cashing in
on Internet Sexploration”

Anastasia Goodstein, “Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really
Doing Online”

Marty Klein, “America’s War on Sex: The Attack on Law, Lust and Liberty”

On another note, our superstars over at the Midwest Teen Sex Show were featured on CBS News with Katie Couric & Co on January 9^th, 2008. They were eloquent and informative, while busting sex ed myths and taking names the entire way. CBS presents them as great example of sex education in the 21^st century and as an alternative to abstinence only programs that do not work. Read about their appearance here and on Katie Couric’s blog. Or watch it here.

Endings and beginnings on the same day… Say goodbye to the submission phase of the Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest. Say hello to VOTING for your favorite Fresh Focus Video starting tomorrow, January 9th. Take a few minutes to watch the awesome finalists, then vote for your favorites and help them get that cash.

If you’d rather surf, read on.

Teenwire.com is another fantastic sex ed site for teens by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Before we press on with the details, we’d just like to thank PP for creating such an informative and age appropriate site for all those questions and must-have answers about sex. There are subsections on the site for all the trappings that come with having sex like emotions, body issues, and LGBTQ issues. And the Teenwire folks are nice — nice enough to plug the Fresh Focus Video Contest for us.

Keep an eye out for Planned Parenthood affiliates’ presentations at the Sex::Tech Conference. Planned Parenthood Orange and San Bernadino Counties will show off their web-based Hotline (phone, IM, and text), and Planned Parenthood Golden Gate is providing prevention packs for the goodie bags.

13 days and counting!

• Today, January 7th is the last day to submit a video to our Fresh Focus Sex Ed Digital Video Contest — MIDNIGHT. We’ve got about 60 entries and they rock. You can start voting for your favorites on Wednesday, January 9th.

www.dogooder.tv/freshfocusvideocontest

• Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 8th is the last day to get the amazing $140 a night rate at the JW Marriott for the conference. The rate is available for a few days before and after the event, so spend some time in San Francisco. 1-800-228-9290 and mention Sex::Tech

www.sxtechconference.org

• Tuesday, January 22nd from 5:30-7:30 Reception to celebrate the union of technology and sexual health at the Institute for Next Generation Internet in downtown San Francisco. Sponsored by Full Circle Fund.

SocialMedia.biz is the blog for social media updates, news, tools and tricks. They seriously profile it all, from what’s going down at Facebook and its new apps just hitting the street, to little tricks that might help you get that manuscript published. Could you ask for anything better? A one stop internet shop for any and everything web related.

SocialMedia.biz is run by J.D. Lasica, one of the worlds leading authorities on social media and the revolution in user created media. He is also the co-founder and head of Ourmedia.org, a community for video producers and podcasters to show off their work and link up with other like minded individuals. Ourmedia was a godsend when we were trying to get the word out about the Fresh Focus Video Contest. We were able to post our videos and link up with interested parties and other users doing similar projects. Imagine how this site could help your next media endeavor.

While the peeps from SocialMedia.biz won’t be presenting at the conference, their blog is still a resource you should bookmark and visit frequently. The links they provide could totally clue you in on what’s hot, what’s current, where to allocate resources, what to avoid and how your organization could really utilize applications like LinkedIn, Google Maps and other stuff we’ve yet to even hear about.

TeenSource.org is one of the greatest sex ed sites for teens out there. Young people can get answers to their questions, search for a youth-friendly clinic, watch cool streaming videos, read celebrity testimonials and more.

TeenSource is so successful because of their cutting edge search engine marketing optimization by Infuse Creative, LLC. Lucky for you, folks from TeenSource will be presenting at the Sex::Tech Conference, outlining the fundamentals of search engine optimization, “pay per click”, and paid search, showing how each can increase the number of visitors to your website.

MyBlackBook is a confidential online sexual history tracker, which allows you to manage the who, what, where and when of your sex life. From contact information to
juicy details, you can record it all, for your eyes only. The coolest feature by far is the Venereal Disease Notification tool (VDNote) that can analyze your account, assessing your probability of getting an STD.

At the conference, folks from MyBlackBook will introduce us to their service, patent-pending technology, and talk about how their tools can improve people’s chances of staying STD-free.

If you did not reserve a room at the JW Marriot before the end of the year, fear not. We have extended hotel registration until January 8th so you can still stay in the lap of luxury at the government rate ($140/night). Hurry because after January 8th the government rate disappears forever!

Call 1-800-228-9290 and mention the Sex::Tech Conference.