Blog In-Action Day

Blog Action Day is an annual event where bloggers around the world are encouraged to talk about a particular world issue. The idea is to create a discussion and raise awareness through a voluntary, global campaign. This year the theme was poverty and the response from bloggers was overwhelming.

Articles ranged from images of poverty to a file-sharing site asking users to donate the money they save from their illegal downloads to charity. Even our very own designer got involved.

So what’s the point of blog action day? I mean, it’s all very well people writing about poverty but does that actually change anything? Will a poor person in Africa read these blog posts and say "isn’t it great that someone in the UK is thinking about my plight"?

Some people have decided to give money away as the result of Blog Action Day and a lot of major newspapers have written about it. It’s still questionable however that shining the spotlight of common consensus on poverty will make government change their policies. Blog Action Day has even been criticised for partnering with the Global Fund – one of the richest charities in the world (aren’t poorer charities more deserving?).

So is Blog Action Day just another Live Aid – it’ll all be forgotten about until next year? Or will it help to make real change in the outside world and not just on our computer screens? I’m not so sure, but I do know for a fact that this post won’t feed or clothe anyone at all.