First 3D Feature on Star Trek's homepage!

Today was a very cool day for this sci fi nerd! Just had my work featured on StarTrek.com to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek III: http://www.startrek.com/article/watch-enterprise-created-in-15-minutes 

Okay, so it isn't a 3-D movie, but it is about 3-D printing. And it isn't feature length, but it is featured on StarTrek.com:)

As you may know, I'm infatuated with the intersection between entertainment and STEM aka STEAM outreach, so this was another score today in my "ongoing mission" to use media to promote important work in science, education and outreach.

Here's the description from the site:

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock opened 30 years ago and we thought we'd celebrate by sharing a whimsical video -- DIY Enterprise: The Next Generation of 3-D Printing -- created by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. In it, a young boy, Eli, makes a diorama for a school project. It depicts the destruction of the U.S.S. Enterprise in Star Trek III. However, to his mom's dismay, he's got a Millennium Falcon rather than the Enterprise primed for destruction -- and school's about to start. So mom reaches out to USC Viterbi Professor Yong Chen (who plays himself) for help, and his revolutionary 3-D printing technology just might save the day. In fact, what once took up to five hours will take just 15 minutes.

No doubt, Scotty would be proud of Professor Chen, a fellow miracle worker. Visit University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering to learn more.

We've already received over 3500 views! This is a follow-up to my more straightforward video about Professor Yong Chen's work in the fall!

Science Online 2014: Science Persuasion, Edward Bernays and Twitter

I had the great opportunity to attend this year's Science Online 2014 conference in Raleigh, NC! The conference had a fun and friendly crowd of attendees, thought provoking sessions, tasty (and healthy) catered meals and an outside the box conference style that evoked memories of late night discussions at summer camp pondering the meaning of life more so than your typical rigidly structured scientific conference.

While I have to admit, a bit more structure and preparation for each session might have made discussions more productive, it was nice to be in the company of like-minded communication professionals. One concern that we all seemed to share and that emerged in nearly every session, regardless of topic, was how to better engage the public. How to get average audiences interested in science. Attendees and moderators alike wrestled with this throughout the conference. And while a few sessions made strides to address this - one session suggested the use of social psychology, it was clear that science communicators are like babes in the woods struggling to get their messages heard.

For me, an avid student of social marketing and educational entertainment for many years, this was surprising. These content producers were groping and stumbling through the woods, when the tools - the edible nuts and berries and well worn paths - were all around them and had been in existence for decades. The moderators introduced us to theories and models of social psychology as if applying them to communications was an untested and novel approach. Meanwhile, Edward Bernays had introduced psychology and pschoanalysis to advertising over 80 years ago, citing persuasion as a necessary tool to curb the irrational "herd mentality" to which society was instinctually inclined.

To anyone who hasn't seen Century of the Self, about the evolution of advertising and public relations and it's use of social psychology, I highly recommend it as a crash course. While conference attendees were debating the ethical implications of persuading the public to value science, the concept of public persuasion already exists and has been used for worse things. My humble advice - get over it and get on with it, the anti-science camp is and has been using it in full force for years.

In truth, I found it somewhat ironic that these fields are so unknown, even to those who would most greatly benefit from their use. It appears that social marketing and educational entertainment, two fields that focus on using outreach, media campaigns and narrative storytelling to raise awareness about health and social issues are in need of a campaign themselves - to raise awareness to science writers that they exist and that they are perfectly ethical to use! Sheesh and good grief!

One take-away from the conference that I'll admit to, which may seem obvious to most... The inclusion of twitter handles on our badges in lieu of business cards was revolutionary to me, attendees tweeted constantly during the sessions, summarizing what they heard, resulting in tweets that I later used for an office presentation. So now... nearly 7 or 8 years after learning about it at a communications conference at American University and rolling my eyes, I think I may finally get Twitter.

Designing a PSA Campaign!

For those of us into social marketing and health outreach a favorite topic of discussion is how to improve public service announcements. We have countless thoughts and opinions on how we would've or could've made an existing campaign better. I've had the opportunity to put my money, well it was grant money, where my mouth is and design a PSA campaign from start to finish.

Each step, from the initial creative brief and informal focus group to the final production is outlined on my sister blog at wrhap.blogspot.com

I may add the lowdown on lessons learned about the challenges I experienced first hand producing a PSA campaign here on my own site...

P. S. We have less than 15 days left in our fundraiser to send the PSA to local stations and pay for track services, so if you're thinking about donating...please do it now at INDIEGOGO.COM/WRHAP

Help Get Our PSA Campaign on TV!

It's been a minute, but I have news:

1. I graduated from film school last year 
2. I started a job producing online videos
3. I'm finishing my first real PSA campaign

And I'd love your support. We're working to get the PSA on the air!

 
This is an opportunity to support something we all care about -- public health education. I just produced a HIV PSA with a lot of help from local volunteers, ranging from public health workers to up and coming filmmakers. It has always been my dream to combine both of these fields and, six years after Yale, it's finally coming true. 



Please help us ensure the work of our volunteers results in air time for the television spot we produced --  consider supporting our campaign (INDIEGOGO.COM/WRHAP) and sharing the message with your network of friends and colleagues.

Black Women's Health Forum - LA

Two weekends ago on Saturday, April 28th, I had the opportunity to attend the Black Women's Health Forum at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Admission was free and open to the public and the event promised to offer breakout health sessions, health screenings, guest speakers and fitness classes. Health, especially women's health and health in the black community are of special interest to me given the disparities in these demographics regarding obesity and chronic disease. I thought it was an excellent idea to bring these issues to the public forefront and wanted to see what the event had to offer. The following was my impression:

Breakout sessions were excellent, covering issues as varied as diabetes and prostate cancer to adoption services. I was surprised to see the session on adoption, but was glad I sat in on it. The information was engaging and inspiring. The panel discussion in the main room, i.e. the "Wellness Village", however was a little bizarre as panelists often seemed off topic and there wasn't a clear message. Among the guest speakers was Dick Gregory with an amusing and engaging, if not puzzling, discussion of race and health.

Not sure how health oriented the Wellness Village was. Most vendors were hawking magic elixirs and supplements as get-fit-quick products, I guess you can't make money off the truth - that wellness and health require consistent work over time. Maintaining good health and being in shape requires adopting effective strategies and behaviors that become part of your regular routine. A lot of barriers to this are information, income, and time management. Many women are still in the dark with how to accomplish this. I wish there had been more information on that. There were, however, a sprinkling of social services in the room, like a table promoting prenatal care services, so that was nice.

I didn't come in time for the fitness classes, but the fact they were offered was fabulous. Those and the Health Screening room made the forum worth while. There were tables giving eye exams, taking BMI measurements, and scoliosis screenings to name a few. Less worthwhile, was what I believe must have been the beauty room, as the emphasis seemed to be on hair weaves, eye brow shaping, candles and bath salts.

Despite the positive nature of the event and the shared commonalities between attendees, the atmosphere was not the most friendly. I didn't feel a warm welcome when I entered the event and the attendees seemed reluctant to speak to each other.

Overall, I wish the event had been better organized with a clear take home message. The emphasis on health didn't feel consistent throughout. But I'm definitely glad I went to hear the current dialogues and learn where many women are in their "health journey." Maybe it's just me, having come from design school, but I believe the event could have been better curated to create a more focused experience. Some of the booths were distractions and seemed exploitative and gimmicky.  The event shows a lot of promise and I believe attendees came hoping to find answers to their health struggles, unfortunately this year many women may have come away empty handed. A for effort, C for execution.

Manipulating Young Minds for Fun and Profit

Missouri schools are allowing ads to be placed within and outside public school buses. I have only three words for this news...

Stop the insanity!

Okay and four more...

Is it worth it?