BLOG ACTION DAY 2008 POVERTY

Hello,

This upcoming week (on Friday, August 15th specifically) we’re launching the 2008 Blog Action Day campaign, and I was hoping you might be able to participate.

As you will recall from last year, the Blog Action Day itself is on October 15th and on that day we ask bloggers everywhere to publish a post on the same day on the same issue, with the intent to hijack the conversation on the internet that day and examine the issue from a thousand different angles.

Last year was a big success and some 20,000 bloggers participated (http://blogactionday.org/) . Instrumental in getting that mass participation were the larger blogs like yours. Thanks to 19 of the top 100 blogs (sites like LifeHacker and Google’s Blog) we managed to rally many of the smaller sites.

This year we’ve got a really important issue - Poverty - and it’s going to be really fascinating to see how people come at it from different angles.

We launch the campaign on Friday at which point we’ll publicly be asking bloggers to register. It would be great to have you on board already.

BLOG ACTION DAY 2008 POVERTY
With an estimated combined audience of over 15 million viewers, we discussed ideas,
empowered audiences and debated on the wide ranging issues of the Environment.
With so many voices, readers heard opinions and ideas from every direction. Mainstream
press picked up the story and mentions of the word “Environment” on the web raced up
during the course of the day. Readers joined in the commentary and we all reflected on
the changes we might bring about in our own lives.
In 2008, the world’s bloggers will again unite, to discuss an issue of the most pressing
import and widespread distress - Poverty.
We will examine the issues from our own unique viewpoints and perspectives. We will
look for solutions on the small and large scale. We will ask how the individual and the
collective can make changes.
On October 15th, we will again unite our diverse group for one purpose: to use our medium
in the best way we can - to blog.
On October 15th 2007, more than 20,000 bloggers
united for the first annual Blog Action Day.
Goals of the Event
Blog Action Day is about changing the conversation for one day to an issue of global importance.
It is bloggers, podcasters and videocasters around the world collectively posting on the same issue
at the same time, to trigger a global discussion and to bring to bear the diverse opinions and ideas
of thousands of different people.
How Does It Work?
From August 15th to October 15th bloggers are asked to register to participate so we can track
how many are involved, as well as their approximate audience size.
On October 15th the bloggers post on the issue and/or donate their day’s ad revenue to a charity
involved in that area. We ask bloggers to try to keep their posting related to their regular blog topic
so that posts are individual, suited to the audience and look at the issue in many different lights.
Outcomes
The principal outcome of the day is the discussion that takes place and the ideas that are planted
in the minds of readers. We also encourage bloggers to actively DO things and blog about their
activities. Finally beginning in 2008 we will be compiling a selection of the best posts from the day
into a short report for distribution to NGOs and the public, to showcase some of the innovative ideas
and actions people can take.
Larger blogs naturally play a leadership role in the blog community. By committing blogs early, we
can encourage smaller blogs to join in. Additionally at the launch of the campaign on August 15th
and during the lead up, the initiative will benefit greatly from blogs posting about the event, embedding
the promo video and/or encouraging their readership to get involved.
How Major Bloggers Can Help
But What Do We Post About?
Poverty is not only a pressing issue, it is a complex one. It is also easy to think that there isn’t much
an individual can do. Fortunately this isn’t the case at all. With activities ranging from Advocacy and
Professional Contribution to Charity and Financing, there is in fact many ways that we can act.
The Blog Action Day team are compiling a dossier on potential topics, actions individuals can take and
information on the global issues relating to poverty that will be available on the Blog Action Day site
from August 15th.
Posting On-Topic
The best thing a blog can do is to keep their post on topic. Audiences visit our blogs because they
enjoy the style, personality and topic of the site. So it makes sense that the best way to get through
to these audiences is to use the style, personality and topic to talk about Poverty. For example:
A Design Blog might analyse a set of charity posters and how they convey their message
A Tech Blog might look at pro-poor technologies and projects like 1 Laptop Per Child
A Political Blog might examine the relevant agendas of leading candidates
A Sports Blog might look at recent charity activities of a major sports franchise
A Business Blog might discuss how businesses can utilize ethical practices to boost their bottom line
A Celebrity Blog might write up a who’s who of celebrity causes and how their participation impacts those causes
A Movie Blog might create a list of the best documentaries relating to issues on poverty
A Personal Blog might document a personal activity of the blogger that is helping the disadvantaged
Blog Action Day is organised as a non-profit activity by a group of volunteer bloggers and the staff of
Envato (http://envato.com) who donate their time and resources. It started as a “what would happen if”
question and simply took a life of its own.
Who’s Behind the Event?
Contacts
Some key Blog Action Day contacts in 2008:
Collis Ta’eed
collis@blogactionday.org
Event Coordinator
Fuad Ta’eed
fuad@blogactionday.org
Blogger Coordinator
Leo Babauta (ZenHabits)
leo@blogactionday.org
Blogger Coordinator
John Barton
john@blogactionday.org
Development
Naysan Naraqi
naysan@blogactionday.org
Media Liason
Easton Ellsworth
easton@blogactionday.org
Assistant Event Coordinator
Although Blog Action Day is predominantly a grass-roots event, support from large scale organisations
makes a big difference to the event. Some ways that organisations helped in 2007 are:
How Organisations Can Help
The United Nations Environmental Programme issued press releases in conjunction and on behalf of the event
The EU Minister for the Environment Stavros Dimas held a Live Internet Chat with Bloggers
Companies like Google and Wells Fargo asked their company blogs to participate
Online Media Sites like Reddit supported the event by changing their logo
Blogging Businesses like BlogTV South America and PixNET Taiwan rallied their customers to participate