Do you think you are ready for 24 straight hours of Blogspotter?
I can’t save the world from disaster like Jack Bauer of “24” or race a Corvette in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but I am willing to blog around the clock on behalf of a great cause.
That’s why I signed up for the 2007 Blogathon, which kicks off at 6 a.m. July 28 and ends at 6 the following morning. Participants must post two entries per hour (no pre-event writing allowed) – and add a 49th at the thrilling conclusion.
Because I’m nuts, I signed up both the Blogspotter blog at spokesmanreview.com and the Hard 7 blog I write for spokane7.com. That’s 98 fresh and fascinating posts in 24 hours. At least it’s not an impossible goal like 100, right?
The paper’s even trying to find a suitable public spot downtown for me to make a monkey out of myself. I’ll pass along details next week so you can stop by and toss me a breath mint.
Pulling an all-nighter will be worth it because I’ll be raising money on both blogs for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. MD has profoundly affected several members of my family, so choosing that charity was a no-brainer.
Like a lot of people, I used to participate in these kinds of events as a kid but fell out of the habit. After rolling through skate-a-thons and even performing standup comedy for the Missoula broadcast of the MDA Telethon in my teens, I moved on to phoning in pledges and buying those buck-a-throw placards at supermarket checkstands.
But this year I plan to play my laptop keyboard until it melts. And that’s where you come in. Please visit the Blogspotter blog for information on making a pledge. (All money goes directly to designated charities.)
Thank you for any measure of support you can offer MDA. I hope to see you during the Blogathon.
It’s worth checking out online, at least. Portland, Ore., blogger Cat Connor planted the seed for the event in 2000 when she posted 96 entries at frykitty.com in one 24-hour period.
In 2001, 100-plus bloggers joined her to raise more than $20,000 for 77 charities. Except for 2004, when Blogathon stepped aside for an event called Project Blog, the fundraiser has bested that figure by significant amounts every year. Totals even topped $100,000 in 2003 and 2006.
This looks like another decent year. As of Thursday afternoon, 283 participating bloggers had recorded nearly $23,000 in pledges for charities ranging from Adopt a Husky of Dallas to YouthAIDS.
Some entrants create short-term blogs dedicated solely to their cause. But the subjects of most participants are as varied as their chosen charities.
One group blog will be devoted to all things Harry Potter, for instance. And when Iowa-based bondage and discipline site Luna’s Journey offered on the Blogathon message board to link to folks who don’t mind being associated with sexual content, the proprietor of doggie blog Tucker Talks Back wrote in to accept.
“Isn’t the question really whether your readers would be offended by [me] pretending that Siberian Huskies can blog?” he asked. “With four dogs, I’m deeply into collars, harnesses, leashes, pack hierarchy… and losing books, magazines and mail to chew monsters – so I figure I’m already part of the BDSM scene.”
Talk about bringing people from disparate backgrounds together. And what other event would link fundraisers for Planned Parenthood and the Pro-Life Action League?
That seems to be the real beauty of Blogathon. Participating bloggers raised an average of about $350 for their charities last year – wonderful, but not earth-shattering.
Add in the spirit of community service Blogathon fosters among people from so many different walks of life, however, and you’ve got an event that makes a big positive impact.