Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Re: Day without Weblogs
Author: Brad L. Graham Posted: 11/15/1999; 6:19:10 PM Topic: Today's scriptingNews Outline Msg #: 13097 (In response to 13061) Prev/Next: 13096 / 13098
Instead of this nebulous "World AIDS Day" celebration (and I use that word deliberately), on December 1st I'm going to have a bunch of links to sites which commemorate artists who died of AIDS related symptoms and sites which provide safer sex information.Since I'm the fellow who originally proposed A Day Without Weblogs, I guess I ought to jump in here and comment/clarify the intent behind the idea.
BTW, hiya Dave -- Longtime listener, firsttime caller here. :-)
I haven't done much to promote DWW beyond posting the original proposal to a couple of mailing lists and to the eGroups weblogger list. It was my hope that the notion would spread and grow organically among the rag-tag "community" that exists among the old-line bloggers and newbies alike. I'm gratified that that's happened, to a limited extent; there are 25 sites so far who've signed on to participate.
When Dan first posted For a Cause, I chose not to respond publicly or privately because I appreciated that he had given the matter due consideration, weighed his opinions and come to a decision about whether or not to participate. I would far rather that process happen and he choose not to take part than for Dan (or anyone) to sign on impulsively, without deliberation, and in lock-step with a real or imagined peer group.
However, going back to read that mini-rant now, I wonder if I failed to properly articulate exactly what I'm proposing. It's not really a Day WITHOUT Weblogs, but a day when those of us who edit these peculiar beasties choose to concentrate -- as a group, for a day -- on one topic for our links and commentary. (The idea for DWW actually grew from accusations early on in the Great Weblog Backlash of 1999 that bloggers formed a tight, incestuous community and cribbed links from each other with abandon. "Wouldn't it be interesting," I wondered, "if we actually did that for one day, when you couldn't visit any of the usual suspects without seeing a focus on a single topic?" And what if we brought that focus to an issue or a concern for the public good?)
I'm not suggesting that you shut down your log completely for the day, but that you simply consider being somewhat single-minded in what you mine from the web's vast resources on that day. As I suggested on the DWW About Page, you could either replace your site with a small graphic and links to HIV/AIDS resources or just go on blogging as usual with a focus on HIV/AIDS for the day. You'll notice that the Sample DWW Page I put up has some of the things Dan is talking about, including links to sites with information about safer sex and needle exchange programs. It's not intended to be exhaustive, just a proof-of-concept. :-)
Finally, while I take issue with the use of "celebration" as a word to describe "World AIDS Day," I think that's another topic entirely and probably not one for this DG. I've personally never seen it that way or used the day for other than reflection on the dear ones I've lost and for action to see that I lose no more. For that reason, I deliberately chose the word "observance" to describe Day Without Weblogs. Diff'rent strokes, I suppose.
Dave, thanks for the link, and Dan, thanks for the thoughts. If any of y'all have questions about DWW, you know where to find me!
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