David Neff: February 2008 Archives

SharingHope.TV Provides a Place for People to Share Cancer Stories

February, 2008 - The American Cancer Society is launching a new Web community that will help connect cancer survivors, their friends and family members through the sharing of user-generated videos, photos, music and artwork. SharingHope.tv allows users to create an account and upload video, audio, photos and artwork in order to tell their stories of cancer in ways that work best for them. Visitors to the site can view the content, share what they like with others, or find hope and inspiration for their own fight against cancer.

Cancer survivors and their loved ones are already avid users of online community Web sites, and with SharingHope.tv, the American Cancer Society hopes to engage new and existing users of online media. "Many people share their stories of cancer on Web sites like You Tube, Flickr, and personal blogs. Now they have a chance to come together in a single online community, with an organization and an audience that really cares about cancer," said David Neff, American Cancer Society High Plains Division director of web and interactive strategy.

 The new video community is innovative for a non-profit organization because it relies almost completely on people outside of the organization to create its content. "This site is not about the American Cancer Society - it's about the people cancer affects. We are providing a forum for people to share their stories, their heartbreaks, their triumphs and joys," Neff said.

For individuals who have never uploaded a video, SharingHope.tv walks them through the steps with its own user-friendly instructional videos. The online community has other unique features, like free background music for videos, created by independent artists. "No one knows more about cancer than the people living with it. We want to make it easy and even fun for that knowledge to be shared." Neff said.

SharingHope.tv can be found at www.sharinghope.tv.

Contact:

Connie Reece
Every Dot Connects
connie.reece@SharingHope.TV
512.394.4575

About the American Cancer Society

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Calling all directors, musicians, artists, photographers  - anyone who has a story to share about their experience with cancer. The American Cancer Society is launching a brand new community in January called SharingHope.TV, which will serve as a portal of user-generated content, including videos, photos, audio, music and more.  

            The idea behind the online community is to give those affected by cancer another outlet to share their story, and network with others who are experiencing something similar.  SharingHope is a site where cancer survivors, their friends, family members and those who are simply curious about the disease can venture to find out about how people are dealing with cancer. 

"Here we put a face to the disease, and you give it the story.  This site isn't about cancer - it's about the people it affects," said David Neff, American Cancer Society, who spearheaded the idea for SharingHope.TV, along with a national committee. 

             You don't even have to be technology-savvy or an experienced filmmaker to show your content on this site.  The Society has included instructional videos on the SharingHope.TV site that walk you through every step of the upload process.  All you need to provide is your insight on how cancer has impacted your life.  Whether it's a tale of heartbreak, sadness, triumph or joy, the American Cancer Society wants to hear your story - in whatever format you choose - a song, a video, photo, artwork -- or whatever else inspires you.  

So share what you know, and share hope at www.SharingHope.TV.

To download the PDF of this news story please click below.

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The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering and preventing cancer through research, education, advocacy and service. For more information any time, any day, in many languages, call toll-free 1-800-227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

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SharingHope.TV is a place for people who are passionate about the fight against cancer and who enjoy telling others. It's a high-quality platform for anyone to upload, download, view, share, and experience everything from short video clips to photos and more. SharingHope.TV will allow people to share their experience with cancer via a visual format.

We believe that digital media offers a way to capture, connect, and engage American Cancer Society constituents. Digital technology has made the creation of content easier, cheaper, and faster than ever before; anyone can become a filmmaker, and thanks to the Internet, anyone can share their content with the world. So go visit our page today and let us know what you think!