Online Sexual Health

What are some new ways in which we can engage gay men online with sexual health info?

A few options come to mind;

· Have new conversations that have other possible endings other than ‘use a condom’ and become better risk reduction educators.

· Work with online adult venues of all types and learn from their marketing experiences with their users.

· Drop the drama and the demands in promotions. 

Slogans that tell us what we must do or make threats of death and destruction go unheeded by most gay men.

· Get real, meaning; create discussion by using real stories from real people.

· Drop the absolutes, the black and white imagery of statements like ‘safe only’ simply do not translate as genuine in our grey world.

· Acknowledge what ‘is so’ in our community and deal with the realities rather than continually try to change them or remake them in an image we feel is ‘right’ or ‘better’. 

Rather than fight against online sex venues work with them. There is a great opportunity in these venues to help create a tighter/healthier gay community. Fighting sex positive venues will not only get us locked out but will further impede education and interventions by continuing to damage the image of sexual health professionals in the viewpoint of gay men. When a sex positive venue is closed or regulated to the point where it is rendered useless, what happens to its members? Are there any behavioral changes when a venue is closed? Is anyone educated by an action or by efforts in this direction? NO - members simply find another place to go, usually one that will be even harder to find and deal with. The users of the closed venue are further shamed by being told they are ‘wrong’ and not wanted in society, and we as health care professionals are again left out of their conversations and have further damaged our relationship with gay men..

· Do less talking and do more listening. 

Get to know what sexual trends gay men are starting and following. Watch what people are doing in the videos that they post on websites such as Xtube.com and Pornotube.com, and observe the pages created within sexual networks for young gay men like Justguys.net and DList.com . Knowing what trends are current allows health care professionals to provide information that is relevant and appropriate to the audience.

source (and the whole article): lifelube

(this in stark contrast to the new Schorer Stichting web site which embodies all that is bad in communicating with its target group)