Today is Blog Action Day!  This year, the focus of Blog Action Day is poverty - it's a day when thousands of bloggers all focus on one issue with the goal to raise awareness, inspire action, and shake up the blogosphere.

What's this all about?

Last year, Blog Action Day focused on the environment, creating a platform for global conversation about the variety of issues, ideas, and projects from all reaches of the world about environmental challenges.  Today, Blog Action Day plans to do the same thing with poverty, to create a global dialogue about those in poverty, issues regarding policy or goverment support, projects and nonprofits working to end poverty, and ideas thousands of people have to help out.

Out of this discussion naturally flow actions, advice, ideas, plans, and empowerment. In 2007 on the theme of the Environment, we saw bloggers running environmental experiments, detailing innovative ideas on creating sustainable practices and focusing audience’s attentions on organizations and companies promoting green agendas. In 2008 we aim to again focus the blogging community’s energies and passions, this time on the mammoth issue of global poverty.

At the time of this post, more than 10,000 blogs have already participated.  You can check in throughout the day to see latest posts and participate in the discussion.

I'm just one person, though!

That's right, you are!  But one person can help ignite ideas, actions, and change. "We’re told that poverty can be eliminated within our lifetimes, but even so, most of us feel stuck when it comes to taking action. There are in fact a range of things that anyone can do." The Blog Action Day team has shared their ideas about the impact of one person participating in today's awareness campaign.  Learn more about:

• Consumer Advocacy
• Political Advocacy
• Community Advocacy
• Stand Up

How can you get involved?

Share your thoughts about poverty, global change, issues, challenges, or ways to make change.  If you don't have a blog, that's fine!  You can contribute your ideas on the NetSquared blog! Then just register your post on the Blog Action Day website.

From the smallest online journals, to huge online magazines, to EU ministers, to professionals and amateurs, Blog Action Day is about mass participation. Anyone is free to join in on Blog Action Day and there is no limit on the number of posts, the type of posts or the direction of thoughts and opinions.

Want to participate without writing a blog post?  Learn about more ways you can get involved, including donating and promoting!  Be sure to watch the site for more posts throughout the day of thousands of bloggers around the world!

Happy Blog Action Day to everyone!