Hey Everyone,

Tomorrow night is Deviants Online, an in-person support workshop in San Francisco for queers, sex nerds, and artists. The topic? How to make the Internet (consensually) submit to your needs. Our guest for the night is Ani Niow, who’s responsible for getting Femina Potens (an intensely fabulous art space for women and trans people) off and running with its social media presence, and who thoroughly understands how brains work online.

We’ve done two workshops so far (one with Mollena Williams and one with Meitar Moscovitz), and they’ve both been amazing.  Tons of creative energy in the discussions, and everyone has left feeling excited and inspired about what they want to do next online (one attendee has already started his first website promoting himself as a musician).  We’ve set it up so that we’re dealing directly with whatever you’re personally grappling with in your web presence — whether that’s around privacy, multiple identities, work, art, twitter, facebook, blogging, or deciding if it’s time to start something new.

But here’s the real announcement: after tomorrow night, we’re going to pause the series for a few months. The events themselves are fabulous, but there are a few important organizing things that I haven’t been able to keep up with (being the kind of person who’s, you know, trying to run 12 other projects at once).  So we’re pausing the project until we can reorganize it into something more sane and community-maintained.  I’m excited about all of the support we’ve received so far, and I believe there’s a real need for this work in the world. Make no mistake: we’re still here.

Today I have two pleas for you:

First: if you’ve been interested in Deviants Online but haven’t come to an event yet, come tomorrow! This is your last chance for awhile to get cheap-as-hell professional advice on how to kick ass on the Internet, with the added bonus of hanging out in a room full of ultra-sexy weirdos and being inspired by what they’re trying out online.  (And if you’ve already been, you know how useful this is. Come again.  And bring that friend of yours… the one who you know needs it more than you do.)  I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

And second: if you care about this work… if you believe in providing good resources for the non-mainstream and sexual minorities on “how to stand up on your own online”… if you believe the world would be a better place if social media experts spent their energy educating the people who desperately need to connect with one another on better ways to do it… if you believe we already have all these answers and we just need a better way to share them with one another… then please get in touch with me to help keep this project alive.  Our goal isn’t just to educate San Francisco — it’s to build a body of resources and peer assistance online, for people all over the world.  I’ll be collecting folks who want to volunteer and setting up a discussion mailing list, so we can scheme the best ways to bring Deviants Online back, and full force.

Here are the deets for tomorrow:

Deviants Online
hosted by Sarah Dopp
with special guest Ani Niow

Tuesday, February 9th, 6 – 8pm
Center for Sex & Culture, 1519 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $10-20 sliding scale, and only if you can afford to.  (broke = free)

Full announcement is here.  

See you then!

Thanks and love,
Sarah

Everyone! Artists! Queers! Weirdos!

This whole thing unfolding beautifully. Each workshop, we give personal attention to what everyone is working on. It’s useful as hell, everyone’s heads are buzzing by the time they leave, and you’ll love it.

Ani Niow

The Deets

Deviants Online
hosted by Sarah Dopp
with special guest Ani Niow

Tuesday, February 9th, 6 – 8pm
Center for Sex & Culture, 1519 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $10-20 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds

What You’re Getting Into

Deviants Online explores the ever-changing “best practices” for social media: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, flickr, blogging, email, websites, and everything else. How can we shine spotlights on what we care about without annoying our friends? What are smart ways to strengthen our relationships and broaden our networks? And how exactly do we get our (many) personal sides to co-exist with our professional life on the same Internet?

As queers, creatives, sex nerds, and other rebels, our lives depend heavily on our friends and extended communities. Whether we’re looking for work opportunities, an audience, or an army of allies, we can all benefit from having a broader network built on trust and appreciation.

In this open-ended discussion workshop, we’ll explore what works and what doesn’t when it comes to representing ourselves online. The material will include a balanced mix of “how to think about it” and “how to do it,” and we’ll have plenty of time for questions. Whether you’ve just signed up for Facebook or have been blogging for years, you’ll leave this workshop full of ideas on what you want to try next.

Deviants Online is hosted by Sarah Dopp, social media educator and founder of http://genderfork.com. It will also have a special guest co-facilitator, Ani Niow!

Why Ani is Awesome

Ani suggests you look up the word “awesome” in the nearest dictionary and look for her bio underneath. For those without access to a dictionary…

Ani Niow is a sex nerd, technology geek and overall absurdist. From being the first social media volunteer at local art gallery Femina Potens, to creating the infamous Steampunk Vibrator and now a recent SFSI graduate, Ani is constantly interested and pursuing intersections of sex and technology. When not noming on drywall mud or using her mutant powers to find weird porn on the internet, she serves on the board of technology non-profit Noisebridge and is pursuing a degree in film. Like everyone else including your grandmother, she has a website: http://oneletterwonder.com

About Your Privacy

Portions of this event will be recorded and posted online. If you don’t want your voice, name, or image to be included in the recording, you can still come — we’ll give you easy ways to stay off camera. There will also be a stretch of time in the middle that’s completely off-the-record.

For those of you that weren’t able to attend our inaugural workshop – and for those that were, but want to relish the fond memories now that the holidays are over – we’re pleased to have finally edited and posted an audio recording of the evening’s conversation for your enjoyment!

You’ll hear:

• Mollena, our guest for the evening, discussing her amazing history online and some of the lessons that she’s learned
• Conversations on privacy online, and managing various concepts of “online identity”
• Must you come out, right now, no matter what? Or…can you create some personal space and keep it until you’re ready?
• Tips and techniques for various online resources, including Google alerts!
• Fantastic questions & insight from attendees, in their own words.

Want to listen in? Just click the link below to be magically tranported over the intertubes into your own private listening experience…

Recording of Deviants Online: December 2009

And if you’re in San Francisco, come join us for our next workshop on January 12 with the inimitable Meitar “maymay” Moscovitz!

The first workshop was amazing – great conversation & lots of amazing ideas and concepts were brought up. We’re looking forward to doing it all over again in January – so here’s the information for you to add to your calendar, pimp out to your friends, and note in your holiday cards as you send them out. We hope you can join us – and bring along a buddy!

Meitar "maymay" Moscovitz

Deviants Online
hosted by Sarah Dopp
with special guest Meitar “maymay” Moscovitz

Tuesday, January 12th, 6 – 8pm
Center for Sex & Culture, 1519 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $10-20 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds

Deviants Online explores the ever-changing “best practices” for social media: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, flickr, blogging, email, websites, and everything else.  How can we shine spotlights on what we care about without annoying our friends? What are smart ways to strengthen our relationships and broaden our networks? And how exactly do we get our (many) personal sides to co-exist with our professional life on the same Internet?

As queers, creatives, sex nerds, and other rebels, our lives depend heavily on our friends and extended communities.  Whether we’re looking for work opportunities, an audience, or an army of allies, we can all benefit from having a broader network built on trust and appreciation.

In this open-ended discussion workshop, we’ll explore what works and what doesn’t when it comes to representing ourselves online. The material will include a balanced mix of “how to think about it” and “how to do it,” and we’ll have plenty of time for questions. Whether you’ve just signed up for Facebook or have been blogging for years, you’ll leave this workshop full of ideas on what you want to try next.

Deviants Online is hosted by Sarah Dopp, social media educator and founder of http://genderfork.com.  It will also have a special guest co-facilitator, maymay!

Why maymay is Awesome
Meitar “maymay” Moscovitz is a “technology geek, sexual freedom and community activist, prickly blogger, and general free spirit.” He makes his living as an Internet technology professional, providing web development, social media consulting, and other technology services. He is the co-author of Foundation Website Creation and AdvancED CSS,and a semi-regular blogger at SitePoint.com. He has lead sessions at conferences such as Sex 2.0, often speaks on the intersection of technology and sexuality, and is a co-founder of the BarCamp-style sexuality unconference series KinkForAll. He also curates the photoblog “Male Submission Art“, co-hosts the webcast KinkOnTap, and has dozens of other projects in various stages of creation.

***Please note: Portions of this event will be recorded and posted online. If you don’t want your voice, name, or image to be included in the recording, you can still come — we’ll give you easy ways to stay off camera.  There will also be a stretch of time in the middle that’s completely off-the-record.

Let’s kick this baby off right! Here’s the announcement! Tell your friends!

Mollena Williams

Deviants Online
hosted by Sarah Dopp
with special guest Mollena Williams

Tuesday, December 8th, 6 – 8pm
Center for Sex and Culture
1519 Mission St, San Francisco

Cost: $10-20 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds

The CSC is proud to announce this new monthly discussion workshop!

Deviants Online will explore the ever-changing “best practices” for social media: facebook, twitter, myspace, flickr, blogging, email, websites, and everything else.  How can we shine spotlights on what we care about without annoying our friends? What are smart ways to strengthen our relationships and broaden our networks? And how exactly do we get our (many) personal sides to co-exist with our professional life on the same Internet?

As queers, creatives, sex nerds, and other rebels, our lives depend heavily on our friends and extended communities.  Whether we’re looking for work opportunities, an audience, or an army of allies, we can all benefit from having a broader network built on trust and appreciation.

In this discussion workshop, we’ll explore what works and what doesn’t when it comes to representing ourselves online. The material will include a balanced mix of “how to think about it” and “how to do it,” and we’ll have plenty of time for questions. Whether you’ve just signed up for facebook or have been blogging for years, you’ll leave this workshop full of ideas on what you want to try next.

Deviants Online is hosted by Sarah Dopp, social media educator and founder of http://genderfork.com.  It will also have a special guest co-facilitator, Mollena Williams!

Why Mollena is Awesome
Mollena Williams is an actress, sex blogger, obsessive twitterer, and international BDSM educator extraordinaire. She uses her web presence to build relationships and get speaking gigs all over the planet. Defining herself as an Executive Pervert, Mollena also holds the coveted title of Ms. San Francisco Leather 2009. She’s hot, she’s smart, she’s loud, and she knows how to make the Internet her bitch. You can read more about her over at her blog, The Perverted Negress.

Please note: This event may be recorded and posted online. If you don’t want your voice, name, or image to be included in the recording, you can still come. We’ll give you easy ways to stay off camera.

RSVP for this event here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=206101372280