Blogathon: How the 24-Hour Blogging Marathon Worked (2006)
How many posts do you publish on your blog in a day? Five, ten, fifteen? How about one post every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight? That was the challenge of the blogathon, a blog marathon where bloggers stayed awake all day and night to raise money for charity. This article looks back at the 2006 Blogathon, how it worked, and how you can run your own 24-hour blogathon today.
Quick answer: The Blogathon was a yearly online charity event, started in 2001, where bloggers posted a new article every 30 minutes for 24 hours and collected sponsor pledges for a charity. The original event is no longer running. You can still hold your own blogathon by picking a charity, setting a 24-hour window, collecting pledges and publishing short posts on a fixed schedule.
Table of Contents
What was the Blogathon?
The Blogathon was started in July 2001 by blogger Cat Connor. Participants updated their blogs round the clock for 24 hours, and friends and readers sponsored them for a charity of their choice. Pledges could be a flat donation or a set amount for every hour the blogger managed to stay awake and keep posting.
It grew quickly. According to InfoWorld (external site), the first event raised over $20,000, and by 2003 it had more than 400 participants. The event later went through a rough patch with a break and new organisers, but it carried on for several more years.
Blogathon 2006: the rules
The 2006 Blogathon began at 6:00 AM Pacific Time on July 29. These were the main rules, which mixed hard work with a lot of fun:
- Post every 30 minutes. Each participant had to publish a new blog post every half hour for the full 24 hours.
- Raise money first. Each blogger had to raise a minimum amount in pledges before the event.
- Stay awake. Scheduled posts and update scripts were not allowed. You actually had to be awake and blogging live.
- One charity per blog. Group blogs were fine, but each site raised money for only one charity, and the charity had to accept online donations.
The Blogathon was a fundraiser first, so if you couldn’t find sponsors, you were encouraged to make the donation yourself.
How to run your own blogathon today
The original Blogathon is gone, but the idea still works for bloggers, writing groups and newsletters. Here is a simple plan:
- Pick a cause. Choose one registered charity that accepts online donations, and link straight to its official donation page so money goes directly to it.
- Set the window and pace. 24 hours at one post every 30 minutes is 48 posts. If that is too much, try one post an hour or a 12-hour version.
- Plan topics in advance. You can’t pre-write the posts if you follow the original spirit, but you can prepare a list of ideas. A blog plan helps here.
- Collect pledges. Ask readers to pledge per post or per hour, and share progress updates on social media during the event.
- Keep posts short. Photos, quick tips, reader questions and short updates keep you on schedule. Writing by voice can also speed things up; see our guide to dictation software for blogging.
- Look after yourself. Prepare food and drinks, take short breaks between posts, and have a friend check in on you overnight.
Building blogging stamina
A blogathon is the extreme version of something every blogger needs: a steady posting routine. Good time management matters more than raw speed, so try these time management tips for bloggers before you take on a full 24 hours.
FAQ
Is the Blogathon still running?
No, the original 24-hour charity Blogathon is no longer held. Bloggers and communities still run their own blogathons using the same idea.
How many posts is a 24-hour blogathon?
At one post every 30 minutes, it is 48 posts in 24 hours. Many modern versions use one post per hour, which is 24 posts.
Can I schedule posts during a blogathon?
In the original Blogathon, no. Bloggers had to be awake and post live. For your own event, decide the rules up front and tell your sponsors.
How do sponsors pay?
Sponsors usually donate straight to the chosen charity after the event, based on how many posts or hours you completed.
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I’ll be joining the 2006 Blogathon as well as my girlfriend and her brother using seperate blogs and charities. I think this is a great way for the casual and net users alike to use their internet interest to raise money for a wide variety of good causes. I mean, what better reason to blog than to give sick children a second chance or become part of the struggle against disease etc. There is so much that we can do as an internet culture, all we have to do is step up and say “This is my fight too, and I can make a difference.”
So please, get involved and show the world that you care about those who need our help. Join the Blogathon! You’ll feel great knowing that your tireless posting is helping your chosen charity to go on with their efforts. I guarantee you’ll want to come back next year.
Actually, I only post once a day, to my blog anyway. I post all day long to my del.icio.us account though, and that rolls into my blog everynight where I catch it, delete all the individual tags for each incoming link, and add tags to the post itself and edit the title.
That made it sound like alot but it really is pretty quick since I just grab the post tags that I’ve inserted and copy them to the post title space. Of course, that gives me ugly titles but I’m only doing this to gather personal info anyway, teh titles are just in case anybody else is interested in checking them out also.
Okay, that’s enuff typing for today.