Can Bloggers Make a Difference?

19 Comments so far - add yours now

1. Joanna Young 
   

   Great idea – thanks for letting us know

   Joanna

2. pelf 
   

   I’ll definitely participate as environmental issues is something I care about very much

3. Roger Anderson 
   

   I’m not sure Bloggers can make much of a difference. It seems to me that we are just talking to each other and not to the larger audience out there. Add to that, we each have an audience that large or small is probably highly overlapped.

   If statistics mean anything, I think I can show that blog readers and writers are not covering mainstream issues very well or very visibly. It is a fairly well known fact that 40% of all search engine searches are for health related subjects, unfortunately right after that is porn. If you look at the Technorati rankings the top sites are technology, politics, and making money as a blogger.

   I’m not saying that a focus on the environment is a bad idea. I just think that the recent toxic toys issue shows that bloggers only write about what gets them traffic not about what the greater audience is looking to learn more about or what has significant importance.

   Am I jaded? You bet I am. I searched for blogs that should have been outraged at the gross negligence of Mattel and I could hardly find any. All these marketing geniuses like to point fingers at how Nikon screwed up their promo, or Dell doesn’t use their blog correctly, and yet I could not find any of them calling out Mattel.

   So, I say that asking if bloggers can make a difference is the wrong question. The question is, do bloggers really give a damn if it does not get them Technorati points, better SEO, or more Ad revenue?

4. Chris Garrett 
   

   @Joanna – Yeah I think at least it will be interesting

   @pelf – Yes I think it is perfect for you

   @Roger – There is probably an element of that but I would say the same could be said of newspapers, radio and tv. I can think of a whole bunch of times that a celeb shaving her head and going into rehab has been covered wider and in more depth than truly important news. Unfortunately what we feel should be covered might not sell newspapers or get web site page views. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try in our own small ways

5. Greg Krauska 
   

   Chris, Blog Action Day is different than the usual blogging rhythm – and that’s what might make it stand out. So, yes, it could make a difference. By getting lots of folks to focus on one topic, while letting them put on their own spin or point of view, it serves as a great catalyst.

   Blogging fails when it starts to sound like elevator music. We all need a few surprises now and then!

6. Ann 
   

   Chris, if bloggers aren’t trying to make a difference in the world they live in, then they really are unimportant. I’ve posted about this on two of my blogs because it’s sparked a passion in me. I don’t have nearly the readership you do, but for those who do read my blogs, perhaps they can also spread the word. I like to think I’m bigger than mere Technorati, SEO, or ad clicks. I’m a real person living in a very real world.

7. Stephanie 
   

   Thanks for the heads up! I like this idea.

8. Collis 
   

   Hey guys! Thanks Chris for the coverage and being one of the first names to sign on!!

   Roger,
   I think the key with something like this is that two things will happen:

   (1) Somewhere out there in the readerships of all the blogs who will participate will be some of tomorrow’s great minds, leaders and thinkers. And perhaps some of them will be inspired in some way or another on the day when we all write for the greater good.

   (2) Because all change is a process not an event, initiatives which push important issues like Live Earth, Blog Action Day or anything else really, do not so much make an immediate change, rather they help set the tone of the global consciousness. It’s like when you hear song for the first time, at first you might not even like it, but as you hear it more and think about it and willingly or unwillingly learn the words, it starts to become part of your consciousness.

   As for do bloggers care, so far it seems they do, some 250 signed up over night!! Lets hope it continues that way!

   Anyhow I’ll stop waffling on now, I’m a bit overexcited this morning because it’s our first day of official promotion

9. LAChick 
   

   @Roger – I totally hear what you’re saying, I’m very new to blogging and have experienced those exact things in my searches through the web. I think if we allow the trend to continue then people will just give up reading blogs and move onto the next thing because we’ll be seen as more of a bunch of empty capitalists and not interested in anything of substance. People will stop relating and move on.

   When someone comes along and suggests that we try to use our powers for good to effect change then I think we have an obligation to say yes – use our medium in a humanist way rather than just a capitalist way. The two can coexist. End of rant

10. mark 
    

    Outstanding idea, count me in!

11. jhay 
    

    Cool! If this were another blog meme, this is probably among with greatest value.

    Count me in!

12. Jermayn Parker 
    

    Personally this will not work but will just be useful for link baiting and love between blogs…

    I think blogs are powerful and can change somethings but at the moment I would say we are in the beginnings of this and maybe in the near future but at the moment, sorry I doubt it…

    but then again maybe I am just a pessimist

13. Ann 
    

    It makes me a bit sad that such young people give up hope so easily. Movements begin with one person who doesn’t give up.

14. Adnan 
    

    Congratulations to Collis and Leo for creating this great site and for reminding everyone in the blogosphere that there’s a real world outside the net as well!

15. Chris Garrett 
    

    @Greg – Good point. If nothing else, the bloggers will have to think differently for one day

    @Ann – Yup we have to at least try to do things

    @Stephanie – Pretty cool isn’t it?

    @Collis – My pleasure and do keep waffling

    @LAChick – I think it’s possible that for one day people will look outside of their caves and that has to be a good thing

    @mark – great stuff

    @jhay – Let’s hope it catches on

    @Jermayn – Don’t worry about being a pessimist. I am also quite cynical about some of these things (14 years online will do that to a person) but as I say above, we have to try occasionally!

    @Ann – Great point, individuals can make a difference

    @Adnan – They did a grand job didn’t they (it looks lovely too!)

16. Shankar Ganesh 
    

    It’s about writing on environment stuff :O
    I’m in.

17. Brian Clark 
    

    Roger, you bring up an excellent point.

    As a parent, I was outraged at the news of the Mattel recall. We hardly ever buy that sort of crap toy, and yet there was a Diego bath toy that my young son had spotted in Target, and I gave in and bought it.

    I even came up with an angle to blog about it at Copyblogger, and then I decided it was too much of a stretch.

    I won’t make that mistake again. Thanks for your comment, because it contains a useful message for us all.

18. Thejesh GN 
    

    Thanks for letting me know. I will mark my calendar.

19. Chris Garrett 
    

    @Shankar –

    @Brian – Indeed, I would like to see the post you didn’t publish

    @Thejesh – Yes, do get involved

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