MobileActives in New York! If you read about the folks who organized the Zumbido project which connects people living with HIV/AIDS through an SMS network, come meet them this Friday, February 22 at 5 p.m. We'll meet at the Park Bar, located at 15 E. 15th Street. Click here for a map.
Can I get HIV after having sex for the first time? So goes one of the ten thousand SMS messages that teenagers in Nigeria have sent to Learning about Living.
Learning About Living is a project by One World UK, Nigerian NGOs, the MTN Foundation, and the Nigerian Department of Education using computers and mobile phones to teach Nigerian teenagers about sexuality and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Ever wondered how Walmart ranks when it comes to supporting gay and lesbian employment equality? What about Starbucks, Coca-Cola, or Microsoft? Employment equality is an issue that the gay and lesbian community has advocated for for years. It has now moved into the cellphone age with point-of-purchase company information for conscious consumers. The U.S.-based Human Rights Campaign recently launched a new tool: An SMS buyers guide that that brings instant information about businesses' support of gay and lesbian equality straight to your mobile phone.
Human Rights Campaign, an American NGO focused on gay and lesbian rights, launched a mobile ampaign that allows users to learn about their favorite companies’ inclusiveness policies via text message. Users text in the word “shop” and then the name of a company to receive a text message rating of that company’s policies towards gay and lesbians. (Give the service a whirl: text SHOP and then the name of a company – SHOP KELLOGG, for example – to short code 30644. This service works only in the United States)
Human Right's so-called mData program allows consumers concerned with companies’ policies vis a vis gay and lesbians to get specific information about those companies when they’re considering making a purchase – at a store, while browsing the web, or even when they’re making investment choices. The data was uploaded in the form of a spreadsheet (in this case, thousands of company-specific ratings).
"Please Call Me" messages are a popular cultural form of mobile communication in South African society. These USSD messages are used to advertise everything from car insurance to domestic airlines to the local corner store. Today, thanks to a recent project by SocialTxt, these free messages are used for the first time ever for social marketing: to encourage South Africans to get tested for HIV and obtain AIDS information.
Educational Message Services and Southern Nevada Health District will be launching a new SMS program to help LGBTs in Las Vegas connect to smoking cessation programs. A first of its kind software interface will enable program administrators to publish packages of information into an SMS platform. LGBTs will be encouraged to text the program to vote for favorite male models, clubs, DJs etc, then once opted into the network, they will receive a series of logic questions and answers to determine the kind of messages they receive at weekly intervals for the duration of the program, i.e. smokers, friend of smoker, or alerts about smoke-free events in Las Vegas. The project is being funded by a grant from American Legacy, and the data collected by the SMS messaging will be researched by Dr. William Evans at University of Nevada, Reno. For information, contact Jonathan, email: jonathan@emsmail.org, or call 805-653-6000
