Did you catch the buzz? Today is Blog Action Day, when bloggers around the world are asked to bring attention to one social issue. Last year it was the environment; this year, it's poverty. It's the kind of easy feel-good meme that the Internet loves -- and that can reward participating blogs with a boost in web traffic -- but what are the real rewards for the cause?

At first glance, one would be forgiven for wondering. It's one day of blogging with a social conscience — and then back to “business as usual” for the blogosphere. Back to writing about online marketing, or Junior’s first tooth, or whatever a blog’s normal focus might be. Cynics might also point out that many of the bloggers who take part have little or no experience of working for a social cause, so the quality of the posts on poverty are, frankly, variable at best...

So, is Blog Action Day just so much well-intentioned “hot air”?

Or is there a real benefit here to those who live in poverty, and to the organizations that dedicate every day to fighting poverty?

Let’s have a look at the numbers, to start with:

• 10,998 sites
• 11,983,780 RSS subscribers
• and uncountable readers who come to the participating blogs through search engines results or links from other sites and various social media platforms.

Those 10,998 sites are just the ones that registered formally at the Blog Action Day site — and it’s clear from last year’s experience that many more feel moved to participate, even several days later, when they begin to read what others have written.

What wouldn’t any of us give to draw that kind of public attention to the causes we care most about?

And the conversation doesn’t stop when the clock strikes midnight. The blog posts that went live for Blog Action Day 2007 are still there in the search engine indexes, still turning up to nudge new readers today, a year later. And many of the best will still be out there next year, continuing to raise consciousness, one reader at a time. And the charity websites that got links from all those blogs will continue to benefit, to some extent, from both the boost in search engine rankings and the increased visibility online.

It’s a way of lifting a cause of global concern into the public spotlight, and bringing it front-of-mind to a broader audience.

Among all the poverty-themed blog posts that hit the internet for Blog Action Day 2008,  I find it interesting that some of the most compelling pieces are written by bloggers who’d normally dedicate their pages to business, productivity and technology topics, not to social action.

You’ll find some compelling  reflections on the privileges of the few, what web developer Nick Cernis calls the 22% Club, and how an online movement such as Blog Action Day might help to bring more balance, starting with awareness and fundraising efforts:

While we’re living our online lives, there are hideously large numbers of people fighting tooth-and-claw for theirs. People who share the same planet and breathe the same air and who really need our help. And The 22% Club distracts us from that. By plugging in, we’re switching off.

Blog Action Day exists to help us all wake up to the reality.

Web consultant Jon Bounds, looking at the relationship between technology and poverty, zeroes in on the practical aspects of what he calls the “second digital divide” — not a lack of access to technology as a result of poverty, but the economic disadvantages that come when those who do have access can’t take advantage of their opportunities because they lack the confidence and skills to do so:

In the near future it’s possible that the inability to use (or disinterest in using) the internet will become a contributory factor in poverty — work that doesn’t in some way use it will become rarer and rarer.

Social media can help in the fight against poverty, in a number of ways — but it’s still down to people.

And one of the pleasant surprises this year has been the emphasis that bloggers are placing on the action part of Blog Action Day. (Try a Google Blog Search on “blog action day” to see what I mean.)

From Skelliewag’s suggestions of 30 Simple Ways to Battle Poverty with Technology for Internet users, to the group of Podnosh bloggers who offered free one-on-one social media tutoring to voluntary and community groups in their home city, to an international Design for Poverty Contest at Yanko Design web magazine — the sheer variety of initiatives is inspiring.  

So maybe that’s another benefit of Blog Action Day 2008? 

Not merely “hot air”  but a “breath of fresh air” — an injection of new energy and ideas for those who struggle with the world’s most pressing social issues, day in and day out, from within the nonprofit sector.

What do you think?
What's caught your eye around the 'Net, on this Blog Action Day?