About 2016 RABlog Week
It is time for the second annual RABlog week kicking off on September 26 and concluding on October 2, 2016. This year we will include 5 days of blogging (Monday thru Friday) with 2 wildcard days which if bloggers wish can be posted on Saturday and Sunday.
Purpose of RABlog week
As always the purpose of RABlog week is to help build the social network of bloggers who share the diagnosis of a Rheumatic condition. While the week is called RABlog week all people who share our condition are welcome to participate. “More than 100 diseases are classified as rheumatic diseases” (EverydayHealth). People who share any of these conditions are encouraged to join the blogging effort. It is true we are not all the same, but RABlog week is a process to bridge our common concerns rather than building walls.
In addition to bloggers who are personally affected, people who love those with the conditions are also encouraged to join our blogging efforts. After all, it is these people who share the journey and assist us in living our lives in the best possible way.
How does RABlog week work?
Each day there will be a prompt. (Prompt selection continues until August 31, 2016, using our survey instrument) People who wish to participate write about that daily prompt or choose one of the two wildcard prompts Once the blog is complete you post your writing wherever you like to express yourself. Then you link that post back to the daily prompt page.
Where can you express yourself? Almost anywhere. If you are new to blogging and do not have your own page, Facebook works great. If you want to set up your temporary blog, Google+ is easy, as is Blogger. If you wish to get more sophisticated, you might want to venture into WordPress.com or WordPress.org. Except WordPress.org, these blog platforms are free to use and they produce great blogs. Of course, there is a host of other tools, and almost any tool you find will work great.
One thing that is often overlooked is using DropBox as your web tool. Remember you can write your blog on your machine, save it to the free tool DropBox, then copy the link for the blog and post that link as your submission. Which means you do not have to have a Facebook page or separate blogging site in order to participate. It is very simple to get involved. If you need help drop me a note at Lawr.Phil@comcast.net and I or someone else will work with you to make sure you can blog with us.
Graphics
We have three graphics which you may use this year. The first is our badge which may be copied from this site or downloaded at:
Both of these are PNG files if you need JPG files, please let me know and I will send them along. The third graphic will be sent to each author at the conclusion of RABlog week. It is the Author badge, and while it looks much like the event badges, it is a little different. A big thanks to Linda Perkins at Spring Sight for the wonderful idea. (Hint: if you look at Linda’s site you can see the author badge).
These graphics are free to use, and you are encouraged to use them as you wish. Naturally, I would prefer that only Authors use the final badge but in the end how you use it is your decision.
Other avenues of expression
This year I established three additional ways to past your material (These are in addition to not in place of the official prompt post pages):
Twitter: #RABlog
Facebook: RABlog week
Pinterest: RABlog week
Please use these to ensure as much content recognition as possible. If you wish to post notice of your content in these broader communities, please feel free to do so.
Remember signups are to begin shortly after September 1, 2016, so watch the registration page for updates. Also one other thing, blog week is a no pressure week, so take care of yourself. RAblog week is about having fun so make it a no pressure week. Remember in 2016,
Let’s Rock the Blog
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