Hi folks! Well I am really excited because I will be on Jonny’s Partay tomorrow evening. The Partay is a popular Web show where individuals are highlighted for what they are doing in the realm of social media and I am honored to have been picked to be on the show with 2 other awesome friends of mine.

The focus of the show will be on using communication and marketing tactics to bring about positive social change. Of course I will be speaking to how social media and emerging technologies are intersecting with health education, promotion and communications. My other to friends joining me will be Alex Rampy of the SocialButterfly blog as well as Qui Diaz of the Evange.list blog - both are talented individuals who love to use social media to bring to light the things that matter.

The awesome Jonny Goldstein has written a post about the event taking place tomorrow evening, check it out here.

What: Jonny’s Par-tay, the live interactive online talk show
Who: Join special guests Andre Blackman, Qui Diaz, and Alexandra Rampy, with host Jonny Goldstein and super producer Scott Stead.
Where: jonnyspartay.com
When: Weds., July 16, Weds, 9-10PM

Hope to see you there!

We’re now officially in the summer time season and what do you think about when it comes to summer? Iced tea, lemonade, pools, warm weather and vacation are a couple of the ones that come to my mind. So despite our busy schedules and technology-driven, plugged in lives - now is the perfect opportunity to take some time out for one of the most important people you know…yourself!

I know I don’t have to remind you about the importance of getting rest, now do I? Just don’t get carried away with the crazy summer time delicacies - I’m not even going to touch the health implications on that one.

Speaking of enjoying the summer, the Buzz Bin recently wrote about ways to reduce your warm weather induced blogging laziness. One of the ways that Larissa points out is to join in on a meme - doesn’t take much brain power and it’s fun to do! So with that in mind, I was tagged in on this summer themed meme:

SUMMER MEME

4 things you like about summer

1. More sunlight at the end of the day
2. Dining outside with lots of laughter and fresh air
3. Road trips/weekend vacations
4. Cookouts

4 of your favorite vacation destinations

1. North Carolina - Outer Banks, spending time with family down there
2. Caribbean - Magen’s Bay in St. Thomas is mind blowing
3. Canada - Loved the landscapes in Alberta
4. Around Town - sometimes just hanging out is worth it

4 of your favorite summer foods

1. Grilled vegetables
2. BBQ Ribs
3. Hamburgers/hot dogs
4. Rita’s Water Ice!!! (good grief they have key lime ice now!)

4 concerts not to miss

1. The Roots
2. Music events on The Mall in Washington DC
3. Local area jazz places
4. Wolf Trap events

4 things to avoid during the summer

1. Sunburns
2. Mosquitoes
3. Fireworks accidents
4. Forgetting to wear deoderant (don’t laugh, you know people who have)

Thanks for the tag Larissa! Let the good times roll!

I had the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed by a great blogger writing on the effectiveness of social marketing. Social Butterfly asked me some questions that got me thinking about what inspirations me and motivates me to continue writing my own blog and making changes in our world.

Before I get too sappy, I just wanted to mention that the community that I have come to be a part of in the blogosphere has really added value to my life and my way of thinking. Here is my interview!

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Well, you can! Andre and others will be attending HealthCamp MD in Owings, Maryland on Saturday, June 14, 2008. HealthCamp MD is being hosted by Mark Scrimshire at EKIVE. To learn more about the event, check out its wiki here. Sign up now while delegate and sponsorship spots are still available.

I recently got the opportunity to meet Andre through a Social Marketing Meetup he planned in Washington D.C. with Nedra Weinreich of the blog Spare Change. Thus, I nominated him for this week’s Blogger Neighborhood, as he too values both online and offline exchange. Enjoy!

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Blog Name: Pulse and Signal

Blog Topics: Health Communication, Health Education, Social Media, Personal Technology, Consumer Behavior

About the Author: Andre Blackman graduated with a degree in Public and Community Health in 2005 but has had a passion for science/technology ever since he could remember. He loves to meet new, interesting people and think about ways to make the world just a little better. He is a firm believer in the power of people coming together for a common good and is interested in using social technologies to improve the health of others through better health communications. I use Twitter a lot (follow me @mindofandre).

If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why?

Changemaker Lane, I want to live on a street that continually reminds me of what I should have done that day as I leave and as I come home.

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor?

I have a few but at the moment, Tiger Woods. He is focused, a family man and he runs an awesome foundation that I hope to emulate.

What first prompted you to blog?

After nearly 2 years of reading blogs and thinking about both health and technology, I decided to take the leap and start writing those thoughts down. Not too long into the blogging, I started making great friends through online communication tools and that continued to fuel my excitement for blogging!

If you customized your own license plate, what would it say and why?

URWRLD - in this day and age more than ever people have the opportunities to fulfill their dreams and achieve their personal goals…it’s your world.

What would you gift to a new neighbor as the perfect welcoming gift?

A REAL list of best places to eat and attractions in the town/city to visit. You know the corporate ones lie sometimes!

What’s your favorite blog post and why?

It would probably be when I wrote “The Importance of Sleep in the Wired Generation.” This was one of the first posts I wrote that got decent attention and even the Sleep Foundation chimed in on the comments section. It was important to me because of what I saw happening to a couple people I knew (including myself!) when trying to keep up with all the social media buzz and Web events. You barely get sleep! And lack of sleep has some detrimental effects.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging?

The importance of interacting with others - the more you comment and make genuine relationships with others, the more you get back, probably even more so.

Past Blogger Neighbors Include:

• Osocio @ Osocio, nominated by SocialButterfly
• Beth Kanter @ Beth’s Blog, nominated by SocialButterfly
• Beth Dunn @ Small Dots, nominated by Beth Kanter
• Len Edgerly @ LenEdgerly.com, nominated by Beth Dunn
• Stacey Monk @ Epic Change, nominated by the Twitter-verse
• Jason Dick @ A Small Change, nominated by Stacey Monk
• Roger Carr @ Everyday Giving, nominated by Jason Dick
• …and now Andre Blackman, nominated by SocialButterfly

This continuous weekly series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.

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Thanks again SocialButterfly!

[This post can be seen as a continuation of what I was thinking about when I posted on slowing down]

For the past few weeks I have been mulling over in my head the notion of balance and how it applies to my health. Ever since I can remember, I have been a type of an overachiever. Constantly looking for ways to improve myself, say something better, and write something better - especially if I was really interested in a certain something. Since I started writing about the convergence of modern health communication and social media/personal technology, my brain has been on fire with ideas and thoughts. I have re-ignited my passion for health…and once I get passionate about something, oh boy, I go full speed ahead!

Since getting more involved with aspects of social media and getting to interact with so many great people, I found myself paying less and less attention to things like getting adequate sleep (sometimes 3-4 hours a night) and not eating properly. I felt like things were going alright, despite increasingly frequent bouts of sluggishness during the day and nagging chest pains. I shrugged it off for a while until 3 weekends ago, when I was enjoying a bed and breakfast in Va and I woke up in the middle of the night with a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath and acute numbness down the left side of my body. To be honest, I thought it might have been the last few minutes of my life - especially knowing about the chest pains I had been experiencing the weeks prior (that I of course told myself I would get checked out eventually). Long story short, I was rushed to the ER and was released a few hours later with a clean bill of health. Nothing clinically wrong, but I knew this was my warning sign…a wake up call of sorts.

Now, I know there was a NY Times article about this sort of thing - bloggers dying or having heart attacks - and I wanted to distance myself from the media frenzy and not be another person talking about the same thing, despite its obvious importance to our culture and it being my specific interest. However, this was a personal event for me and one that I wanted to share with my readers. Sometimes you have to live through a situation in order to feel inspired and when I feel inspired, I want to share it with others, hope you don’t mind.

I came away from this event, reorganizing my time and what I did with it. Spending more time with the people I care about, focusing on my goals to revamp/update the way we view our health and communicate about it (health education, promotion…more on that later) and having quality interactions with people who are passionate about something. I bet you’re thinking that this is where I say “life is short” - actually that is a moot point in my opinion. Let me tweak that phrase a bit and say life is an opportunity - the quality of which is up to you. Whether you are here reading this because you are wired up to the gills with social media interests or just want to get a better idea of where your health fits into a busy lifestyle - one thing remains the same…you make use of this opportunity called life by taking care of yourself.

Thanks for listening.

Hey folks! Welcome to my new home on the web….introducing Pulse & Signal!

Just to give a little background on the move, one of the biggest motivating factors was to have more control over what the blog looked like and to get a little more technical with how it operated. I moved from Wordpress.com to Wordpress.org and so far I’m loving it. There were a few challenges in the beginning but hopefully this is looking good for a first iteration.

All the same great material will be covered - still focusing on health and technology, so I hope you continue coming back for it! If you have any suggestions, questions or comments about the new design, feel free to let me know.

Lastly, I’d like to give a shout out to some very cool people that helped me put it together from offering name suggestions to helping me set up the site. And for anyone that I missed, thank you!

Cag.Incognito, Shey & Kenya who helped big time with the WP back end, Nedra, Bill, Neecy, Natasha, Leslie and Jen.

I think I hear the “please wrap it up” music starting…

Thanks again people for your thoughts and eyes during this transition. And without further ado, I give you…

Pulse & Signal!

I guess one of the great things about being in the blogosphere and writing for public consumption is that sometimes people enjoy what you do, take note, and spread the word.

I am super excited to announce that I was featured in the Boston Globe as well as on Penelope Trunk’s blog on work/life balance!! Penelope writes for the Boston Globe and since I recently joined the new Brazen Careerist network of bloggers (see badge on the left side of the blog) - I figured that’s how she was able to take a peek at the blog post about getting my dream job.

This just once again reinforces my feelings about these new media communication channels. How else in the world would I have gotten an opportunity to be featured in the Boston Globe?

Thanks so much for thinking of me, Penelope!

Since next week looks a little empty, I decided to do a 2 week radar posting:

NetSquared DC March Meetup [link]
When: Tuesday, March 18th 7pm - 9pm (they usually have a large crowd so get there promptly at 7pm)

Where: Affinity Lab
2451 18th Street NW 2nd Floor(above The Diner in Adams Morgan) [map]

Details: Learn about APIs (application programming interface) with Greg Elin and Josh Ruihley from Sunlight Labs.

Washington Blogger February Meetup [link]

When: Wednesday, March 19th 7pm - 9pm

Where: Regional Food and Drink
810 7th St. NW
Washington , DC 20001
202-289-2030 [map]

Details: Local Washington area bloggers meetup for good times and good conversation.

Digital Democracy Panel Discussion:Politics, Privacy & Creativity in the Age of the Internet

When: Wednesday, March 26th 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Where: National Press Club
529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045
(Metro Center Metro Stop)

Details: A cocktail reception and panel discussion where expert alumni and professors from the Boston University community will examine the implications of digital media on political communication, news reporting and expression of opinion during the 2008 campaign season. (This last one might not be open to the general public, a former colleague of mine is a BU graduate and invited me to come.)

Most likely I will only attend the last event since this week is getting kind of busy for me. But I highly encourage those of you in the Washington DC area to attend these events! It is a great way to meet folks who are passionate about social media and plus you never know what ideas/connections can spark!

I’m a proud member of the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association (MWPHA) and as most of you know, a big advocate for health education and public health efforts. Especially in the Washington, DC area where HIV/AIDS and poverty are pressing issues - we need to count on local talent to lead initiatives and generate great ideas.

I know, you’re probably thinking: ‘That’s great Andre, but what does that have to do with us?’

Well….I wanted to let you all know that the MWPHA is opening up their leadership committees to new positions for 2008 and going forward! If you or anyone you know is interested in making a difference in the area through health education and public health initiatives, please let me know by dropping me an email. I would be more than happy to send you more information!

Another exciting part is that I’m currently being nominated for one of the positions! Hopefully I can bring some insight to the group on the useful tools of social media and spreading the word on issues that impact all of our lives.

For more information on this wonderful organization, please hop on over to www.mwpha.org

So right now I’m writing on Day 2 of my new job at the awesome New Media Strategies in Arlington, VA. From the name of the company, I’m thinking you web savvy consumers can guess what we do here - that’s right folks, we work with new/social media!

Ever since I caught the social media bug about 2 years ago, I have been voraciously reading blogs (and creating a blog!), writing down ideas, notes, and fully absorbing any and all strategy about this space that I could get my hands on. Needless to say, I am very passionate about this area of web technology and online communications. For those who know me pretty well, they know that I am an information geek. When I get an interest in something, I will make it my duty to learn as much as possible on it and (sometimes to the dismay of others) try to share it with as many people as possible! One of the things I tell my younger family members in junior high or high school, is that “once you know, no one can tell you I told you so” - so with that in mind, I try to learn as much as possible in life.

Ok, enough with the lecture.

I am super stoked to be here working with my buds Leslie Bradshaw and Brian Devine, who not only know their stuff when it comes to the Web, but they are also really cool in real life. But…don’t tell them I told you that, I don’t want them to get big heads…

Folks, this qualifies me as a poster boy for getting your dream job. If you work hard and keep pursuing the goals that you have for yourself, things fall into place.

Thanks to all my Twitter buddies for all the congrats. And now if you will excuse me, I must break out into my secret victory dance one more time…

**UPDATE** Contest prize is a $25 Amazon Gift Card! (Does that make you want to think of a suggestion??)

Recently on my many adventures and interactions on Twitter, I came across an individual who alerted me to something that has been on the back burner of my mind for a week or so. Basically it was brought to my attention that the name of my blog, Antibio.tech, might give people the idea that my blog’s content focuses on defacing the biotech world - which is far from the truth.

Back in late September when I was racking my brain to come up with a name for my blog, I settled on this one thinking that it was kind of clever (antibiotic + tech), encompassing a solution for an ailment and the ‘tech’ as a twist to show the focus on technology. But alas, 5 months later, it seems that I will go ahead and think of another name. The last thing I want people to think when they see the name of my blog is that it is against the biotech field.

So with that said, I’m planning to hold a contest to find the new name of my blog! That’s right folks, harnessing the power of the social web, I’m going to try to find a user friendly name for my blog that focuses on the intersection of health/well-being and technology (personal tech and social media).

What I need you to do:

1. Think about some good names for the blog that would make YOU want to come over here
2. Place the suggestions in the comments on this post
3. Let others know who may be interested in staying healthy in the digital age

After I guess a week or so, I’ll gather together the suggestions and then create a Top 3 list of the suggestions that I like and will put them in a survey for folks to vote on. Trying not to make this too deep or complicated, just want to find something good that I can stick with.

A few things to help - I am aiming for the blog to:

• Point out new and effective technologies that can help in living a healthier life
• Expand upon my thoughts on the social media world and how the new digital age/social web era affects the quality of our lives
• Highlight health news items that may affect your day to day life
• Create a community of people who are invested in their quality of life, for the rest of their life
• Have fun while informing!

Okie dokie, thanks in advance for your participation and I will be coming up with some sort of reward to the chosen name!