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The Next Bloggers Unite Challenge is December 17th

Posted by TonyB • 10/18/07 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: bloggers unite

Bloggers Unite for Good

Mark you calendars for December 17th when Bloggers will Unite and ACT.

I'm not talking about Shakespearian acting but each of us doing an act of goodness and kindness and then blogging about it.

What If instead of 15,000 blog posts we unite together and each of us does something kind and then blogs about it, how much more powerful and positive will our impact be when we act?

It's the holidays. It doesn't matter how big or how small your act of kindness is. All that matters is that we unite as bloggers on December 17th and each do something kind and then come back and share our experiences on our blogs.

Be creative, take photos, display the letter you wrote or the email you sent, show a video of yourself painting someone's house, bringing some less fortunate a meal or gift. Share the smiles you create by capturing it in a photo or a poem.....then share your experience with the rest of us.

To spread the word and perhaps change the world even more .... let's start a meme. Over the next month tag bloggers with the idea. There is plenty of time to rally together and make a major difference in the lives of thousands of people.

Finally to make this really fun and increase all our traffic, when we blog about what we did, link to another blogger's post. This way we will connect these acts of kindness showing a unity among bloggers that has never been seen before.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts and ideas on this thread.

User Comments

10/18/07

libdrone

(shuffles feet and looks nervously around at other readers)

(checks watch again and notices no one has said anything)

(starts to type, presses backspace a bunch of times...shuffles feet, looks around...checks watch again....starts to type....)

Since no one is rushing to jump onto this, I will go ahead and go first, but I'm afraid my comments are bit negative.

This meme, like the Abuse thing, seems extremely vague which for some of us is much more challenging than a meme that is too detailed. Nobody could possibly be For abuse or Against kindness but could we possibly sharpen the focus a bit to make it easier for everyone to understand what is expected and get on the same page so that we're singing as choir instead of a rabble of dis-harmonious solos?

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10/18/07

gosmelltheflowers

LOL libdrone! :0) For abuse and against kindness? Most governments seem to do a pretty good job, as does the front page news that we get oh so tired of.

This is all flower smelling stuff and as we understand it up to the individual to make that difference in there own way. We do this daily as a matter of course which is the whole point of our book and blog but I guess it is all about the community uniting, which it will.

So, whatever rocks your boat, really, that is the whole point. To dish out rules moves away from true user generated content, which is the aim of blogcatalog, right?

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10/18/07

TonyB

Any ideas on clarification? The feedback from the Blogging Against Abuse was appreciation from many members that they could blog about something that was near to their hearts as well as something that kept the focus of their blogs.

The meme can be focused. That in itself is a way to get more bloggers involved so that we do more good with the cause.

How vague is a good deed? How vague is kindness?

Isn't combining actual acts and blogging about them a more powerful way for us as bloggers to make a bigger difference in the world compared to blogging alone?

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10/18/07

gosmelltheflowers

Good, as we thought!

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10/18/07

TonyB

www.blogcatalog.com/group/bloggers-unite/discuss/entry/join-bloggers-unite-... is the Bloggers Unite group.

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10/19/07

gmoney

Dec 17 - Bloggers Unite For GOOD
This is better than blogging against abuse!
I like the vague nature of the idea...
Find something between now and the 17th and Do because you can... not because you are looking for anything in return, but because it is the "right" thing to do.
On Dec 17th, I would love to see people blogging simply about a single right thing they did, or as some would say paying it forward.
Simple things someone could do...

-Open the door for everyone you see
-Start a fund raiser today and donate the money on Dec 16th
-Wake up and call a friend and tell them how much they mean to you
-Take your kids to a retirement community and have your kids share there zest for life with someone that is older
-Write a post on how you plan to change one thing in your neighborhood
-Organize a group to talk about making a change
-Donate 5.00 to some cause
-Find a person that you never see smile and talk to them.
-Write a letter to the troops in Iraq
-Send a care package to the troops in Iraq
-Become a Big Brother or Big Sister
-Volunteer at your child's school
-Blog about the happiness you try to bring to others lives
-Bake cookies for your coworkers
-Do a selfless act
-Volunteer at a homeless shelter
-Get to know someone of a different race
-Promise to make a positive difference in some way shape or form
-Pay it forward
.......... I know some of these sound cheesy, but maybe they will get you thinking....... just try something, something outrageous, something fun, something that will change a life. Do good for the sake of doing good. Thank you BC for uniting people to do common good!

G

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10/19/07

TonyB

Very good G!

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10/19/07

monkeytale

Hmmmm... would it count if I asked everyone here to perform an act of kindness towards me and I blogged about it?

(Cash is always kind.)

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10/19/07

TonyB

Pay Pal on the way.... send me your login details and Ill send cash

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1. 10/19/07
  
  monkeytale
  
  I dunno....maybe instead of me, we should be nice to ender for a change. I mean I try to, but a li'l help wouldn't hurt.
  
  (I think she likes cash.)
10/19/07

TonyB

That's a thought. If nothing else ender's blog makes for a good read'

www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/

Cash....likes it? really??

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1. 10/19/07
  
  monkeytale
  
  Yup...she's good people. (I gotta do some serious brown nosing yanno, because of that other thread.)
10/19/07

ThriftShopRomantic

Ah, I should be able to participate in this one this time. I can see a great angle with it that won't look forced or scare my readers away!

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10/19/07

clioandme

The blogging against abuse thing was far too vague, and this one is even worse. If you want to tap into the power of bloggers, pick a real issue that can motivate people.

Some will still decide not to blog because they disagree or it's not their thing, but you will nonetheless get a bunch of people blogging about a single meaningful cause. The alternative is just a bunch of people blogging about a bunch of different things---same as any other day in the blogosphere.

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10/19/07

TonyB

Stoneman -

What is meaningful?

Is doing something good and then blogging about it not a meaningful cause? I would suggest it is more meaningful than what you propose.

It seems as though picking a lightening rod issue or some social cause that is specific while it may be more interesting from an intellectual perspective is just another day of blogging about a particular issues too.

This cuts to the goal of Bloggers Unite. what is the goal of Bloggers Unite? Is it to simply prove that a bunch of bloggers can unite and blog about a particular social issue on a particular day?

Is it about creating some meaningful, measurable change?

If it is about meaningful, measurable change where we impact out world for the better then uniting over 1,000 bloggers (thats how many participated in the vague challenge of Blogging Against Abuse) on one day, each doing something kind will have a much more meaningful social impact than a so called "real" issue.

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10/19/07

TonyB

Lidbrone and Stoneman,

We have opened up the next Bloggers Unite initiative for the BlogCatalog community to decide.

Please provide your input as to what you think will be a more meaningful event at
www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/what-should-bloggers-unite-about-on-decem...

It's easy to say why something won't work. So instead of simply saying why an idea is really bad it would be more helpful if you come up with an idea that you think is great.

[reply]
1. 10/19/07
  
  clioandme
  
  I'm coming up short, since I'm not usually the activist type. But might I suggest brainstorming issues to which bloggers can relate as bloggers?
2. 10/20/07
  
  TonyB
  
  Yes...yes.. I think a good brainstorming session is what's needed. Where we come up with as many ideas as possible and then go through them.
10/19/07

varniticula

I like Gmoney's comment, writing about how one made a difference in someone else's life- the pay it forward method.

www.stopapathynow.blogspot.com
Is a blog site dedicated to stir activism through many forms of art and to educate the ignorant.

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10/20/07

tiddlytwinks

Personally, I would like to see action taken by Bloggers Unite regarding Racism. It is a incredibly serious issue, like abuse, but mostly ignored. Race against race, the ridiculous belief by many that couples should "stay with their own kind" and all that jazz. Whether bloggers choose to write about the various race-related hate crimes noted on the news lately, or about mixed relationships etc, it would be good for Bloggers to unite against this.

The usual comments of "I was raised this way" simply shows pure ignorance, and I think we bloggers ought to stand up for everyone's..........rights.

[reply]
1. 10/20/07
  
  tiddlytwinks
  
  P.S. If everyone chooses to blog about an act of kindness they did for someone else, I think I'll pass this time. It's not that I don't believe in doing good things for others, I just don't feel comfortable tooting my own horn about the nice things I do for people. That's just my opinion.
2. 10/20/07
  
  TonyB
  
  Tiddly.. that's the strongest reason so far for not "blogging about our acts of kindness".