Thanks to the efforts of editor/creator Janet Feldman, and the project supports, we now have a great blogging resource, Blogging Positively. (option click to download from Safari otherwise click on the link)
I really like this guide. Graphically it is inviting to read. Its parts are chunked into accessible bits of information that touches upon various dynamics of new media and HIV activism and education.
I played a small role by participating in the group chats during the development phase of the guide, so it’s hard not to be biased, and to my surprise I did get featured. That aside Janet has done a great job of taking a very broad set of ideas and encapsulating them into this one document.
For new bloggers, the guide addresses some basic issues you may want to think of a head of time. Do you want to be completely public, or is this something you’d like to slowly slip into? What topics am I interested in? Does it have to be all HIV all the time?
I know I’ve made plastering my face and status on all forms of media to seem like a breeze, and quite glamorous, but it’s not for everyone. However that should not stop you if a few things are thought out before taking the plunge.
Some helpful tips for first timers going public:
- What are your goals;
- What support do you have, finding peers is very important
- Figure out to what degree of anonymity or non-anonymity you desire;
- Get the Blogging Positive guide and give it a go through.
I’ve found over the years the way I’ve presented myself publically has drastically changed. I know longer go out and do what I call the AA talk to students and beyond. I’ve told my story so many times now I fear that I’m starting to sound like a flight attendant giving out the emergency instructions. The only thing lacking is the blow up prop incase of a sudden crash landing in Lake Ontario.
My evolution is about getting on with life where HIV is not always the colour that paints the foreground.
For others, I understand the therapeutic value of telling their stories. People need to hear them. Especially in Toronto gay community polarizing around incarnating first-line intervention of non-disclosure of status, and generally how we fit into the community.
Of course I’m writing from a completely North American gay-centric point of view. Check out the guide and see how new media is being used all over the world. There are some great links to others work all of which I know will provide some inspiration.
Every HIV positive person who finds the courage to speak out and stand out is one more strike against the ignorance that still alive and well out there.
Twenty-five years later, we still live in an environment where people fear disclosing their status. One by one we can show another way of living. If one person is encouraged to be more comfortable with themselves, then I say it’s a job worth doing.
More to follow on telling your story …….
