BlogActionDay | a thousand cuts

Yesterday at the New Marketing Summit, I had the opportunity to listen to Don Peppers present on customer empowerment. He talked about self-organization of crowds and showed a great example of this by asking the crowd to achieve a goal of clapping in unison. The crowd started, and within a few moments were clapping in tune. The example was poignant: when there is a common goal, the crowd or social network can be very powerful.

I’m going to make a stretch here to tie this to Blog Action Day, a one day event where bloggers “unite to discuss a single issue – poverty. We aim to raise awareness, initiate action and to shake the web!” With a common purpose, today you will see thousands of bloggers unite around a common goal to address awareness of poverty as a significant global issue. I’m glad to be a part of it. Imagine a stadium of folks starting to clap in unison, then go visit blogactionday.org and take a look at how bloggers from all industries, trades and backgrounds are speaking with a loud voice to millions of readers across the globe.

Poverty Awareness

I’m going to use my voice today to share some key statistics on poverty in Massachusetts, my home state, and to make a small action to contribute to the cause. Without Blog Action Day I probably would not have taken the time to look up and share this information.

320,000 people sought food assistance in Massachusetts in 2005, a 14% increase over 2001.
Of those, 45% had to choose between food and heat.
39% had to choose between food and rent.
30% had to choose between food and medical care.
Nearly a third say their children don’t eat enough because they can’t afford enough food.

All of these are long before the recent oil price spikes, stock market challenges and housing market problems.

A Quick Action

What can you do? Here’s a simple suggestion – I just donated online to the Greater Boston Food Bank in honor of Blog Action Day. You can donate online easily here or go to Feeding America to find a local one for you.

There you have it, blog and action together. What can you do today to support Blog Action Day?

Web 2.0 and social media are changing the way we interact online. Can it change how we interact offline too? You bet it can. I'm participating in two events coming up that are purposefully out to show how social media can affect change.

sm4sc

Are you in the Boston area, interested in social media, and interested in social change? A group of social media enthusiasts in the area have started Social Media for Social Change. The background of the cause:

Social media has broken down walls and created conversations. IBM does product testing in Second Life. Old college classmates reunite on Facebook. Zappos does intra-office communication via Twitter. All great, paradigm shifting events.

But what about change for the greater good?

You don't have to be in Boston to be interested, and I see this as a grass roots effort that can be spread to other cities as passionate people pick up the vibe. Here are some social media footprints around this group already:

A fundraiser has been planned for Friday, October 10th, at the Harvard Club in Boston, with all proceeds going to Jane Doe Inc:

Jane Doe Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence brings together organizations and people committed to ending domestic violence and sexual assault. We create social change by addressing the root causes of this violence, and promote justice, safety and healing for survivors.
sm4sc is on Twitter
Join the sm4sc group on Facebook
Check out the sm4sc group on Myspace
Vote for a panel on sm4sc at SXSW

More to come as the date approaches. If you are interested in becoming a corporate or personal sponsor, drop an email to sponsors (at) sm4sc (dot) com.

Blog Action Day 2008

Blog Action Day is a consolidated blog outreach program asking bloggers of all genres to talk about what they do best, but relate a post on October 15, 2008, to the topic of Poverty. Register your blog and be part of the awareness campaign. It's easy – they even have ideas to help come up with a post. This is an easy way to get involved in a good cause. Check out this video, a well done production to give an overview of what Blog Action Day is about.

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

a thousand cuts

adam cohen's blog :: interactive marketing, digital and social media

Tag / BlogActionDay