CDC's Brave Voyage of Discovery

Working at the CDC must be like paddling in an ocean of competing currents. Off port is the gale of Hippocrates’ mandate to do no harm. And to starboard are the treacherous shoals of impending health crises (AIDS, pandemic flu, diabetes, you name it). Navigating these dangerous waters requires intrepid mariners. Thank goodness we are blessed with so many willing to “go down to the sea in ships that do business in great waters. (Psalm 107).” (Man, can I beat a metaphor to death or what? Can you tell that I am daydreaming about the beach?)

The CDC bravely sailed tricky waters with the AIDS Personal Public Service Announcement project. The CDC covered the costs necessary to bring our teams to Atlanta to participate in the project. Imagine a huge federal agency staffed with professionally trained health professionals endorsing and supporting a project where students make messages on cell phones in one day. Yeah, it pushed their comfort zone big time.

The CDC understands that we live in a new media world. They know they have to adapt to new ways of using the media. They embraced this radical approach.

Throughout this project we have been blessed to work with a host of CDC people who took heat and took chances to make it happen. After our event in Atlanta, the CDC began the tough process of having the videos reviewed for accuracy through both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services. In record time, these federal agencies approved for distribution the first campaign ever built on user created content. In addition, with the AIDS PPSA project the CDC established new mechanisms for partnering with outside companies such as Verizon and Nokia. This project was only successful because of the CDCers who were willing to break the mold and break new ground. I can personally say that I am proud that we have such progressive, forward thinking individuals managing our nation’s health care response.

As part of it’s new media approach, the CDC has created a YouTube channel where you can see the AIDS PPSAs -- http://www.youtube.com/CDCStreamingHealth.

This is a great resource because it will give you the opportunity to share these videos with others – more on that in a minute.