About #RABlog Week 2015

What is #RABlog Week?

#RAblog is a seven day event starting on September 21 and lasting until September 27 2015.  It that involves as many bloggers who wish to participate as possible. Nine topics will be selected (one each day and two wild card topics) and each day of the seven days, bloggers are encouraged to write about the topic of the day. If one of the 7 daily topics do not resonate with the blogger then a wild card topic may be chosen.

What is the origin of #RAblog Week?

#RAblog week has its origin a community of knitters, who raised awareness of their craft using a fiber-blogger event called Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.   In 2010 Karen Graffeo (Bitter~Sweet) brought the concept to the Diabetes Online Community (DOC) as #DBlog week. Since then #DBlog Week has become a much loved annual event.  So much so that in 2015 it included about 200 bloggers. On most days in 2015 over 100 bloggers wrote about the daily topic.

#RAblog week will be smaller, since we have far fewer RA bloggers, still we are mighty when brought together.  The aim of #RABlog week is fivefold:

• Promote the cross reading (by bloggers) of RA blogs. This will develop camaraderie, awareness, and cross pollination of blogs in the RA community.

• Promote the discussion about important topics trending among the RA community,

• Build awareness of advocacy opportunities which involve the RA community, and

• Promote the use of other social media tools to promote blogs by individual bloggers.

Does each blogger have to write each day?

No. Of course the goal of the week is to have as many bloggers as possible writing about the same topics. But bloggers can join the fun depending on their schedule. #RABlog week is a fun and cool week of the best blogs around.

What are the daily and wildcard topics of #RABlog week?

We are currently soliciting suggestions from fellow bloggers and other interested parties. If you have a topic you would like to add, please send the idea to Rick Phillips at info@RADiabetes.com, the topics will be selected in the first week of September 2015.

Will issues supported by online RA sites be included?

Issue ideas may come from any source. A prompt like ‘how do you participate in research related to RA’ might be proposed by a web site and could be included. This might lead to Initiatives such as Arthritis Power, open trials or the American Arthritis association among others. All of these and more would be great responses from bloggers. Ideas can come from any source and responses will include several alternatives.

How can other Bloggers help #RABlog week?

To be successful #RABlog week will need the following assistance:

1. Your ideas for great blog topics.

2. Promotion of #RABlog week. We need bloggers to participate. Please pass the word. All RA bloggers are encouraged to participate. The more we have, the more fun we will have. Promotion includes writing blogs, tweeting about the event, and encouraging those who do not yet have a blog to participate.

3. Develop material and help instruct bloggers about how to maximize social media resources. These include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Google among others, to promote individual blogs. Posting on social media raises the visibility of work from the bloggers who participate. Participation on these forums will be encouraged, but not required for participation.

4. Participation in #RABlog week. Starting September 21 and continuing until September 27 2015.

Where will links to blogs be uploaded?

Each day those who participate in #RABlog Week will be asked to upload a link to their daily blog to a master list maintained at RADiabetes.com. A master list and the two wildcard lists will be publicly available during and after blog week. Each uploaded web address will be associated with the topic and the name of the blog site. Only the site address, name of the blogger and the web site of the blog will need to be uploaded.  The public and other bloggers will be encouraged to go to the individual sites of participants to read daily content.

Do I have to be a current blogger to participate in #RABlog week?

No, as a service to guest bloggers, RADiabetes.com will host guest blogs all week. If a person wants to try out blogging and does not yet have a site, they can guest blog here. Have them write
info@RADiabetes.com  and we will make an arrangement. Other bloggers may also offer guest blog opportunities. If other bloggers wish to do so a list of guest blog opportunities will be maintained at RADiabetres.com.

Release of topics:

#RABlog week is different than the other blog weeks cited. It is understood that the selection of topics must occur by the end of the first week in September, so bloggers can get started on their weekly responses. Given sore joints, doctor appointments and treatment complications we need extra time to write all seven blogs. Given the circumstances bloggers will have the topics by September 1, however, they are asked to not post their blogs on these topics until #RABlog week.

 Use the Graphics

Please use the Badge and header on your site.  Theses are freely available and as a participant you a re encouraged to use them in your blogs and on your site.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4lcbzk8qibsea6e/RABlogbadge.png?dl=0

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ylnc73qxk0adu5n/fbanner.jpg?dl=0

 

Lets Rock some BLOGS !!!!!!!!!!

 

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rick