Blog Action Day 2008

In looking back through the Loosely Speaking archives from this time last year, I see that Blog Action Day 2007 influenced not only my thinking, but my posts and actions in the months that followed. Without quantifying it, I believe that this day can motivate change, ala the “Power of One.”

Best of … Blog Action Day 2008 - Loosely Speaking

When I was younger, I thought poor people were poor because they didn’t work, or because they didn’t work hard enough. I was going to school, I was going to get a good job, and I was going to earn a living … So why couldn’t other people do that? Unsurprisingly, it turns out that being poor is a little more complicated...

The Choices We Face - Ashley Bunting Seeber

It is calling us to change a culture, both the consumerist culture of the West, the culture in which we lock ourselves behind high walls to keep the poor out of our lives, as well as the culture of the poor, who prefer not taking responsibility for life… there is hope, there is points of light ...

The Reality of Poverty - Cobus van Wyngaard

Microloaning

During Blog Action Day bloggers everywhere supported entrepreneurs in impoverished areas through Kiva microloans. They did this by creating Kiva Lending Teams, by donating themselves or as businesses. Some great examples include the TechCrunch team who have already lent $1,550, the BAD08 team who have lent $2,375.

Bloggers also supported the KivaB4B project where Advanta Bank put up an additional $10,000 in support of Blog Action Day.

Today is Blog Action Day, with blogs around the world making a concerted effort to raise awareness about global poverty and ways to fight it. What we’ve decided to do is to start a TechCrunch lending team at Kiva.org. Anyone can join. Erick Schonfeld - TechCrunch

As part of Blog Action Day: Poverty, RCC is making Kiva loans with the proceeds from our clients past and present (and will in the future). I've been inspired by others who have shown me about microlending to entrepreneurs in impoverished areas of the world and I'm excited to make this a part of RCC... Valerie Robinson - Robinson Communication Consultants

Kiva has partnered with Advanta on the Kiva B4B small business credit card, and Max Gladwell is a Kiva B4B card member. When we make loans through Kiva, Advanta matches them up to $200 per month. What Kiva and Advanta have essentially created is a cause marketing platform for small business owners. Think of it like the local sporting goods store that sponsors the Little League team. Max Gladwell - MaxGladwell.com

Whether it was donating to the official BAD08 charity - The Global Fund for whom we raised $3,159 - or to fundraising for their own preferred charities, bloggers gave freely to organisations like Feeding America, Donors Choose, World Hunger Relief and many, many more.

Most Controversial Donation Post?
Donate Your Piracy Savings to Reduce Poverty
TorrentFreak.com

Blog Action Day was covered by media both offline and on including: ABC Radio, News.com.au, Digg, Washington Post, The Guardian, WebProNews, GMA, ArabNews, and Inquirer.net. For more Press Coverage check Google News

To get an email notification about Blog Action Day 2009, add your address here:

And finally a big thank you to every single blogger who participated in Blog Action Day 2008 for making this event so special! In particular a huge thank you to Easton Ellsworth who went far above and beyond for the event, Fuad Ta'eed who forsook sleep to help man the day, Cyan Ta'eed for facing her nerves and being our press contact, John Barton for making a site that not even 12,000 bloggers could take down, and all the other people who helped organise and shape the day - Thank you!

Until Next Year ... Keep Blogging!
Collis
on behalf of the Blog Action Day Team