http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ce9178cf-15f3-4720-930e-fd1a7985f3be

Andrew and I never got the chance to give you all the nitty-gritty from our trip to SXSW and that crazy award night. Our spirits were high; the tension was higher. The MC called out the nominees, and as I heard him say “Fluther,” those words kept going through my head: it’s just an honor to be nominated, it’s just an honor to be nominated. And after the award went to another site, that’s actually just how I felt.

It really was an honor to be nominated. We’re proud of Fluther, we’re proud of this community, and you all should be proud of what you’ve helped build, too. We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: the site is really nothing without you. So even though we didn’t get a chance to thank you on the podium, I’ll do it now:

We’d like to thank all the jellies in the collective–and especially our moderators, who work tirelessly–for making Fluther what it is.

But let’s be frank. We’re all really in this to win. That’s why we’re happy to announce we’ve just been nominated to the 2009 Webware 100. That’s right, another juicy award. This time you can vote without bothering to verify your email. So, Flutherites, what more can I say? You are the greatest. Now let’s go win us an award.

Please vote now. It’ll literally take 5 seconds.

We need your help. Fluther has a chance to to win the People’s Choice Award at SXSW. Whoever get the most votes, wins. Anyone can vote, one vote per day.

That means if you all vote right now, and then tomorrow, and the day after, until March 6th, you can make Fluther win, and all of us very, very happy.

It’ll just take a second. Make the puppies proud.

Puppy photo by emarquetti.

We’ll be there at the award ceremony on March 15th, drinking bubbly and crossing our fingers.

And, of course, this award is for “Community” so it really belongs to all of you. Seriously–we’re nothing without your intellect and lurve.

• The FlutherSearch Firefox plugin:

If you use Firefox, you should try it out–it’s specially made by our friends at WebMynd so when you search Google you also search Fluther. Plus, it can record your search history in a nifty way.

• An Amazon search box:

When you’re doing your shopping this holiday season, please buy some stuff from this box on Fluther. If you click on something and buy it, we’ll get a little referral bonus which helps pay the bills during these cold winter nights.

Please let us know what you think!

Twenty-five years after the discovery of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS and twenty years after the initial commemoration of World AIDS day, we are fortunate that the scientific community has rallied to discover much about the lifestyle of HIV, and in doing so, develop a host of effective medicines against HIV. In Western countries, HIV-AIDS has changed from a nearly universally fatal illness to a manageable, chronic disease. However, much work remains, as the successful implementation of either a vaccine or a cure for HIV-AIDS continues to be elusive.

Why is this so important? According to UNAIDS, there are approximately 33.2 million people living with AIDS.  Of those with AIDS, approximately 2.1 million are children. Last year alone, 2 million adults and 250,000 children died from AIDS, staggering numbers considering that HIV is both preventable and treatable. When we consider that roughly two-thirds of all cases of HIV are in poverty-stricken Sub-Saharan Africa (where HIV prevalence rates vary from 5 to 25%), we can begin to understand why so many people are dying from AIDS.

In honor of World AIDS Day 2008, Fluther is wearing red.

What can you do? Pledge your leadership online, or get involved in local, national or international HIV-AIDS advocacy groups. This is a global problem, requiring a global response!

Written in collaboration with lefteh.

Now I’ll forever be “working out”.

And lest we think this is only about me, check out our very own richardhenry’s NSFW site, cursebird. A brilliant idea, if you ask me.

We’re really excited because they’ve added a Fluther integration module, which we think will make searching Fluther a snap:

Cool, right? Try it out and let us know what you think.

In case you’ll be in Denver on Nov. 3rd-4th, you should check it out. I think it’s going to be an incredible conference, and I’m not just saying that because I’m involved.

Also, you can use my discount code bf1 to get $200 off tickets.

Thanks, everyone!

Join Andrew and me in designing the next generation of Fluther products.

Tell your friends! Tell your neighbors! Send us your portfolios!

You can send email to jobs [at] fluther (dot) com.

p.s. It’s going to be really fun.