Blog Day 2005

Sometime in June of this year Israeli blogger Nir Ofir had a realization: the date 3108 (or August 31st) looks suspiciously like the word “Blog.” He had also become increasingly aware that as more weblogs from around the world make their way onto the internet, the more we get stuck in our regular reading habits without searching for new content and new voices from other cultures and viewpoints. Despite the rhetoric of the internet making the world a smaller place, most weblogs still link to bloggers from their same country and with their same political outlook. His solution?

In one long moment on August 31st, bloggers from all over the world will post a recommendation of 5 new Blogs, Preferably, Blogs different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog surfers will find themselves leaping and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers.

There are specific instructions on how to format your blog post in English as well as 10 other languages.

The idea has certainly caught on and is already making noise around the world. SAJ Shirazi from Pakistan has listed no less than 124 blogs which he fully expects to participate in Blog Day this coming Wednesday. Satish Talim from Pune, India is encouraging fellow Indians to take part. Aldebarán from El Salvador, Jordi Abad from Barcelona, Spain, naevus’ corner from Italy, David Weinberger from the U.S.A., and Alexis Perrier from Paris, France are just a few examples of the many around the world who will be introducing their readers to new bloggers from other countries.

Unfortunately, it seems that Technorati's lack of support of the Korean standard character set, EUC-KR, will keep most Korean bloggers from participating in the day's events. In a letter to Nir Ofir, the Korean blogger, Hof explained why.

Though Blog Day has garnered less attention here in the United States, the Indianapolis Star did give it mention last week.

We at Global Voices, of course, couldn't be more supportive of the idea. We have long encouraged bridge blogging, where a weblog serves as a bridge between two groups of people, especially from different countries and cultures. August 31st marks a day in which we can all play that role by seeking out new blogs from foreign places and introducing them to our regular readers. If you're looking for a great place to start exploring, there's none better than our Bridge Blog Index.

14 comments

  • […] Via Global Voice Online, Blog Day 2005: Sometime in June of this year Israeli blogger Nir Ofir had a realization: the date 3108 (or August 31st) looks suspiciously like the word ‘Blog.’ He had also become increasingly aware that as more weblogs from around the world make their way onto the internet, the more we get stuck in our regular reading habits without searching for new content and new voices from other cultures and viewpoints. Despite the rhetoric of the internet making the world a smaller place, most weblogs still link to bloggers from their same country and with their same political outlook. His solution? In one long moment on August 31st, bloggers from all over the world will post a recommendation of 5 new Blogs, Preferably, Blogs different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog surfers will find themselves leaping and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers. […]

  • […] As David said: We at Global Voices, of course, couldn’t be more supportive of the idea. We have long encouraged bridge blogging, where a weblog serves as a bridge between two groups of people, especially from different countries and cultures. August 31st marks a day in which we can all play that role by seeking out new blogs from foreign places and introducing them to our regular readers. If you’re looking for a great place to start exploring, there’s none better than our Bridge Blog Index. […]

  • I’ve posted an announcement about this on my blog. Brillian idea!

  • A link now in Scotland’s premier politics blog will ensure readers with affilitation to that country are aware of blog day. Good luck.

  • […] El próximo miércoles 3l08 tenemos la oportunidad de poner puentes entre bitácoras. Nir Ofir, un bitacorista israelí, lanzó hace un mes la propuesta Blog Day 2005. Apenas hace dos días, me enteré vía Global Voices. Una muestra de que la información no circula muy rápidamente entre diferentes círculos de bitácoras, precisamente por la falta de puentes. […]

  • It will be interesting to see which sites GlobalVoices will pick for BlogDay.

  • […] Unsurprisingly, we’re hugely supportive of this idea over at Global Voices. David “El Oso” Sakasi’s recent post gives some hints for places to look for great global blogs as well as a bit of background on the idea. […]

  • Fredcat the Famous has an internationally famous blog, which he’s been dictating for over 2 years!

    He’s an immigrant cat (English, living in the USA) and is working hard to come up with a list of blogs to mention in his blog.

  • Thanks for the mention here.

Join the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.