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Bloggers act quickly
to aid Katrina victims

On Sept. 1, 2005, bloggers of all types and stripes joined together to participate in Blog for Relief Day. The purpose of this one 24-hour period was to catalyze an outpouring of donations for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The idea was initially floated on Aug, 30 by Hugh Hewitt on his blog hughhewitt.com. Glenn Reynolds from instapundit.com was quick to pick up the idea and suggest Sept, 1 as the day. N.Z. Bear at truthlaidbear.com quickly jumped into action and built a special area of his site for bloggers to post what they were donating, to whom, and how much.

As word quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, Deborah and I decided to get creative and initiate some action from our business coaching clients and business owners who read our blogs. So we issued a $1,000 matching challenge on biz-ownersblog.com on the afternoon of Aug. 31. We had hoped to get at least $1000 in donations that we could match. But, what happened in less than 24 hours blew us away. Including our matching funds, we received proof of more than $12,500 in donations by 11:59 p.m., Sept. 1.

At the same time, the total tracked over at truthlaidbear.com was approaching $350,000. And, with momentum just starting to build, Blog for Relief Day turned into Blog for Relief Weekend (Sept 3 - Sept. 5).

This is how the blogosphere works. Fast, fluid, viral, and completely in control of the citizens in the marketplace. Bloggers not only keep the mainstream media in check, uncover facts and inform readers in real time. They also quickly transform digital communication into tangible support for people in need.

In the midst of chaos and calamity being shown on cable news, there's an untold story going on -- a story that consumers of mainstream media still are not aware of. It's a story of Americans helping Americans in time of need.

With no direction, no government assistance and no political leadership, blogs sprang into action, and small, local organizations that can act quickly and decisively are getting support so they can reach their full potential and help people immediately -- churches like Canal Street Presbyterian Church (cspcno.org) right smack in the middle of the city of New Orleans; and organizations like Soldiers Angels (soldiersangels.org) that started a special effort to help the families of Louisiana National Guard who are deployed in Iraq.

The new world of word-of-mouth on multimedia steroids is here. Climb on board, step aside or prepared to get bowled over.