After rolling up our sleeves and getting dirty working for the Army Environmental Center, our video team sanitized thoroughly and donned some scrubs to work with Inova’s Alexandria Community Hospital. We produced a short video highlighting the fascinating history of the hospital and the many wonderful services that are available to the community.

This video showcases many of the innovative procedures performed at the Center and the superior level of customer service offered by the staff of the hospital. Our team visited the hospital and through the kind participation of both staff and patients, was able to capture the doctor/nurse and patient relationship during three phases of the process: preparation, procedure and recovery. Check out the video below:

In this next clip, our video team literally got their hands dirty working for the Army Environmental Center. This video was part of a larger effort to communicate and assess the risks associated with finding new uses for former Army training ranges. These lands were becoming more widely available and our client needed to make sure that decision-makers and citizens were well informed about associated public safety and environmental issues.

Our team travelled to several former ranges, capturing the beauty of the lands and also learning about the technology used to remediate them. We interviewed policy makers and program managers as well as scientists and environmental experts and incorporated these viewpoints into the final award-winning video.

To learn more about the campaign, visit our portfolio page here: http://www.mindandmedia.com/aec-risk-com.html

I’m pleased to announce the launch of my own blog, Farm Food Blog. My blog will discuss farm foods as well as profile farms and farmers, and the plants and animals that live there. I’ve been maintaining westonaprice.org and realmilk.com for the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) since 2001, so this is an opportunity to write from a personal perspective about all that I’ve learned about nutrient-dense foods and sustainable agriculture over the years.
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I’m really excited to be supporting some of the leading minds in the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Mind & Media has always strived to work on projects that affect positive change in this world, and the project with which we’ve been engaged over the past year has probably been the most positively impactful of any I’ve worked on. We’ve helped disseminate information to families dealing with PTSD, to therapists treating PTSD, and most recently to therapists helping couples cope when one partner is struggling with PTSD. Each project has been different in its own way, but they have all been equally rewarding to me personally.

Make no mistake; it’s not just the end goal I’m passionate about. I’m a geek for the technology and aesthetics of the communications in general, but to apply my years of geeking to efforts like the treatment of PTSD is amazing. Sure marketers or designers everywhere worry about web usability or word choice in when trying to sell a product or push an agenda, but all the same communications best practices hold true no matter what communication effort you undertake. It doesn’t have to be sexy, but it has to be clear, easy to use, and it must give the audience what they need.

For a public-facing presentation about reuniting with family members returning from a war zone, we got to put ourselves in the shoes of stressed out, nervous family members waiting at home. How could we write this content so it’s easy to understand? What questions could we answer, via video interviews with other families, that would show these folks they are not alone? What images would connect them to the material, and what, ultimately, do they want from this presentation? Not cool animation, not a widget, not a text message, nothing from the bag of new communications technology. They just want to know what to expect, what to look out for, and where to turn if things are not going well. Our work moves them from anxious to reassured, from unsure to confident. Positive change I remember long after the work ends. It was a pleasure to bring Returning From the War Zone: A Guide for Families to life for all the families that need it.

Engaging communication—good storytelling and strong characters—is essential to entertaining viewers.  It’s also a great way to change social behaviors.

In Nigeria, radio dramas are used to change attitudes and behaviors that lead to overpopulation, abuse of women and children, and HIV/AIDS.  First broadcast in 2006 on public and private radio stations in Northern Nigeria, the serial radio drama “Gugar Goge” told stories of characters that improved their health and the health of their families by using maternal health and reproductive services.  A 2009 survey found that 66% of people that sought services at clinics said they were motivated by what they learned from listening to the “Gugar Goge” sequel “Ruwan Dare.”

Does this seem strange? It’s actually a very old form of communication that’s getting an update from the U.S. Census Bureau.   An October 7^th article in the Washington Post reports that the Census Bureau has partnered with Telemundo’s top telenovela “Mas Sabe el Diablo”  The story arc involves the character “Peral Baltran,” whose hard luck changes when she gets a job recruiting folks in her neighborhood for the 2010 census.  The Census Bureau is hoping to reach Latinos and show that participating in the census is “private, easy and very important.”  Will the Census Bureau campaign have the same success as the Nigerian radio drama? Stay tuned.

Photo courtesy of Telemundo

There’s been a lot of talk about transparency and collaboration in Government lately and some of you may be wondering if it’s just all talk, but there is clear evidence that the tools, technology and ethos of Web 2.0 are making headway in the Government space.

Here are some websites that are using Web 2.0 tools to communicate with the public and within Government:

1. The White House: If you want to see a leading example,  look no further than the White House website.
2. The Collaboration Project: This site, created and maintained by the National Academy of Public Administration, is a great window into how different Government agencies are using Web 2.0.
3. GovLoop: This social networking site for Government workers, contractors and anyone interested in Government boasts thousands of participants and has a very robust online community.
4. GovTwit: This Twitter directory lists agencies and Government personnel using Twitter.
5. Young Government Leaders: This Drupal site is a social networking community for Government workers (and up and coming leaders) under the age of 40.

These websites are only a small sampling of how Web 2.0 is being used within and without Government circles. Use these links to connect to other sites and examples of how Government is using these powerful new tools to better engage with the public and within Government agencies.