Sunday, July 28, 2002

It's the morning after, and we all survived. Just a quick note to say that voting is closed. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure when we'll be announcing winners. I have high hopes for some time in the next few days.

by...frykitty... 7/28/2002 06:55:00 PM ... ~link~


Blogathon 2002 is over. It was a fantastic event that exceeded all expectations.

Special thanks to my team, and all the participants and bloggers. All sponsors will receive emails regarding their pledges.

See you next year!

by...frykitty... 7/28/2002 05:58:00 AM ... ~link~


ATTENTION:

Did you vote for your favorite blogger? It hurts to say this, but we had a problem with the database. Think of it as the perfect opportunity to change your vote. I apologize for the inconvenience, but everyone will need to vote again.

by...frykitty... 7/28/2002 05:48:00 AM ... ~link~


Woo! We have a winner right out of the gate. Dang! Congratulations, Nick!

by...frykitty... 7/28/2002 04:08:00 AM ... ~link~


You've stuck it out. You deserve a little treat. Let's begin the drawing.
Prize: $100 in Pyrads.
Rules:
  1. I draw a random participant.
  2. I post your site here.
  3. Within 15 minutes you post an acknowledgement on your site. Something like: "YES! I'M AWAKE! GIMME GIMME!"
  4. After 15 minutes, I draw and post another participant.
  5. I keep doing this until someone wins.


You ready? Sure you are. The first blog to be drawn is: Morfablog.

by...frykitty... 7/28/2002 03:59:00 AM ... ~link~


Over 20 hours blogged and less than 4 to go! Keep it up!

by...Jessica... 7/28/2002 02:12:00 AM ... ~link~
Saturday, July 27, 2002

All day long, Chris at undersense.com has been broadcasting a large and eclectic selection of music from the home base apartment in East Lansing, Michigan. You can listen in by pointing your Winamp or iTunes client to 12.245.152.16:8000!

If there's enough demand, he'll start up a live show in the wee hours. Let him know if you'd be interested at chris@undersense.com! There are slots for 30 listeners.

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 11:24:00 PM ... ~link~


The Pervert Club will be giving away prizes every hour until the Blogathon is over. Prizes include Official T-Shirts, Boxers, and Gift Bags. To enter, all you have to do is go to our blog and leave a comment including your E-mail address. Winners are announced on the blog, via E-mail and on our message board. So, come on over and take this stuff off our hands!

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 07:29:00 PM ... ~link~


About a week ago I had the pleasure of talking with Nathan Bierma of the Chicago Tribune. Nathan is blogging with us today, and he provided me with an mp3 of our talk. It's about 3.5Mb. Feel free to download it and make fun of your fearless leader.

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 07:24:00 PM ... ~link~


Using Xanga? Apparently they've chosen tonight for some routine maintenance. Though they're not down yet, Sada is setting up a group blog on her other site just in case. Contact her at iflans@adelphia.net. Be sure to tell her all the necessary info--your url, site name, etc. Thanks!

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 06:19:00 PM ... ~link~


HAPPY HALFWAY EVERYONE!!!!!!

:)

by...Jessica... 7/27/2002 06:06:00 PM ... ~link~


Jett just IM'd me and said she may have our youngest sponsor. This is what makes it all worthwhile.

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 05:07:00 PM ... ~link~


Okay, now that we've all been here a while, I have a very special announcement.

Yesterday, Jason from Blogger got in touch with me. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse: $100 worth of Pyrads. This required some quick thinking. The prizes for the awards were already decided, and I didn't want to add anything there. How could I make this super cool? Luckily, I have friends with large brains, who donated the idea of a DRAWING.

So here's the scoop: Rob has compiled a numerical list of the bloggers. At 4:00am Pacific (that's two hours before the end of the event), I'll select a random number from that range. I will look up which blog that is, and post it here. Within fifteen minutes, that blogger must post an acknowledging message on their blog (you know, like: "WOOOO! IWONIWONIWON!"). If the fifteen minutes passes, I'll assume the participant has packed it in, and draw another number.

So this is me and Blogger saying: Don't fall asleep!

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 03:05:00 PM ... ~link~


Getting to know your favorite blogs? If you are a blogger or sponsor, you may nominate them for an award. Just go to the voting page, put in your choices and your email, and you're done. You may only vote once, so if you haven't made up your mind, wait. Voting won't close until about 24 hours after the event.

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 02:29:00 PM ... ~link~


I just wanted to check in and say hi to everyone! You guys are doing great! The AIM room is hoppin' (IM me at layoutjunkie if you want a link, participants only please), there's also the IRC chat (linked on the left). Let's get that sponsor total up! Go harrass people, but be nice about it!

by...Jessica... 7/27/2002 02:15:00 PM ... ~link~


It's not too late to sponsor your favorite blogger!

Unlike other types of marathons, you can keep sponsoring while your blogger is participating. Yes, that's a hint.

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 07:50:00 AM ... ~link~


Got pen and paper? It's time to start cruising blogs and jotting down your favorites. Nominations for this year's awards will be determined by bloggers and sponsors. You only get to vote once, and you need to know your choices for all the categories, so get ready. A page where you can enter your favorites will be posted in a few hours.

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 06:54:00 AM ... ~link~


Ready...steady...

BLOG!



by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 06:00:00 AM ... ~link~


90 minutes to go. Before we begin, some words of calming advice:
  1. If you use a service to blog, and it goes down for a little while, don't panic. No one is going to be disqualified for missing a few posts because of technical difficulties.
  2. If you don't post right on the half hour, don't panic. You should be posting once in every 30 minute block. About every 30 minutes. There is no Blogathon Gestapo.
  3. If your server goes down, don't panic. It will probably come back up shortly.
  4. If your computer crashes, don't panic. Just reboot and continue.

Seeing a pattern here? Don't panic. Have fun. You have enough to worry about. Just stick with it for 24 hours, and I'll see you on the flipside.

by...frykitty... 7/27/2002 04:30:00 AM ... ~link~
Friday, July 26, 2002

Are you ready?

I lament the lack of countdown this year (the one I found didn't work right), just remember that we're all starting at the same moment in time. That moment is about 8½ hours from now.

I'll be up early. I have some exciting announcements to make tomorrow. Happy blogging!

by...frykitty... 7/26/2002 09:33:00 PM ... ~link~


Shavenfreude

Gt of Camspot wrote to tell us that DrT, from Internetgossip, will be shaving his head live on cam in return for the $500 pledge he thought no one would make. Hee. While we're talking about Internetgossip, they (along with Camspot) are going to be running a scavenger hunt with a Logitec 510 cam as a prize; questions and clues will be posted every hour at Internetgossip, and answers will be available from one of the roughly 480 web cam sites listed on the Camspot portal.

by...frykitty... 7/26/2002 05:39:00 PM ... ~link~
Thursday, July 25, 2002

Brian at Grinning Idiot writes:

"I phoned up one of my sponsors, Cosmic Cards and they've offered a free 1 year subscription to their online Premium membership of Tarot Card readings (value US$107)."

He'd like to offer this prize to his highest sponsor. Sponsorships must be confirmed on this, so you must enter all information correctly (especially the email). So sponsor Grinning Idiot (he's blogging for Doctors Without Borders), and a winner will be announced at the end of the event.

by...frykitty... 7/25/2002 06:23:00 PM ... ~link~


Post a Poem Prize Competition

Zel works for a web hosting company who have agreed to provide the following prize: Domain Name Registration and 20MB of free space for 1 Year.

The rules of entry are simple: You must be taking part in The Blogathon 2002

Guidelines:
  1. Write a poem on the topic of Blogathon 2002.
  2. The poem needs to include the Site Titles of 3 other Blogathon participants and make reference to blog entries from those 3 participants.
  3. You can enter as many times as you want BUT if you re-enter you must refer to different Blogathon participants. (This will bring traffic to more people)
  4. All entries should be posted at this board (not the same as the Blogathon bboard) on THE DAY of the BLOGATHON.

Go on over and introduce yourself and your blogs in the appropriate section. So we can all get to know who will be taking part. Spread the word.

Email Zel for more information.

by...Jessica... 7/25/2002 04:34:00 AM ... ~link~
Wednesday, July 24, 2002

The Awards page is up, complete with some amazing prizes. Big, big thanks to:


by...frykitty... 7/24/2002 09:09:00 PM ... ~link~


A nice bit of coverage from Melbourne Australia's The Age!

by...frykitty... 7/24/2002 06:59:00 PM ... ~link~


Here's some fun: the Hot Spots and the Cam Portal are up, and as people sign in the entries are growing. Sounds like an entertaining night of hitting the refresh key!

(PS: Be sure to clear your cache so you get the right page. If you don't see anything, hit refresh.)

by...frykitty... 7/24/2002 06:45:00 PM ... ~link~


In the "kinda-somewhat-coverage-of-the-Blogathon" category:

This week's issue of Information Week magazine (a CMP print publication) focuses on business blogs. In Stephanie Stahl's Editor's Note, she gives a brief lower-case shout out to the Blogathon:
"...these days you can find blog contests, blogathons -- events that raise money for charity through continuous blogging for 24 hours."
Is this the first print mention of the 'thon this year? Does Stephanie Stahl realize there's only one Blogathon? Who knows?

by...Ryan... 7/24/2002 02:53:00 PM ... ~link~


Shaun writes:
"A woman who owns her own soap-making company has agreed to support my Blogathon. I'm blogging about chocolate, so appropriately, she has put together a chocoholics gift basket featuring a chocolate fudge massage bar, chocolate cream lotion, chocolate massage oil, and chocolate bath salts. The basket goes for $20, and for each one she sells, $5 will go toward my charity, Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence. She's already got the Blogathon details on the front page of her site, www.beantreesoap.com.
I'm not sure I could keep myself from eating that massage bar!

by...frykitty... 7/24/2002 01:13:00 PM ... ~link~
Tuesday, July 23, 2002

Tahnie of in august and everything after... wrote in to tell us that her charity, the Cystinosis Research Network, is supporting her blogathon efforts by putting up a special page on their site. Tahnie herself has Cystinosis, a genetic metabolic disease in children that can cause kidney failure by age nine, so this charity is especially close to her heart. However, since she'll be in Chicago for the annual Cystinosis Conference during the Blogathon, her friend will be doing the blogging for her. Tahnie already has 15 sponsors, many of whom are families affected by the disease.

by...Ryan... 7/23/2002 11:50:00 AM ... ~link~
Monday, July 22, 2002

The Inside Story

Nathan Bierma of the Chicago Tribune will be covering the Blogathon--as a blogger! Sponsored by the Trib, he'll be right there in the trenches with us for 24 hours. Judging from his blog, the result should be a great read.

by...frykitty... 7/22/2002 08:26:00 PM ... ~link~


Notice a little change over to the right?

Cafepress has come on board as an official sponsor in a big way. We're ironing out the details, but I'll have an exciting announcement soon.

by...frykitty... 7/22/2002 06:05:00 PM ... ~link~
Sunday, July 21, 2002

Want to chat?

I'll be running a test of the Blogathon chat room today at 3:30 Pacific. I'd like to get as many folks in there as possible.

If you have an IRC client, connect to dallas.tx.us.undernet.org on port 6667 and join #blogathon.

If you don't have an IRC client, just come to the javascript interface on the site.

See you there!

by...frykitty... 7/21/2002 12:24:00 PM ... ~link~
Saturday, July 20, 2002

To be absolutely clear: only signup for bloggers closes today. You may sponsor at any time, right up until the end of the event!

by...frykitty... 7/20/2002 08:44:00 PM ... ~link~


Signups close today.

If you want to participate as a blogger, get signed up by midnight Pacific time. All bloggers, even those who just signed up, will need three sponsors by midnight. It's time to stand and be counted!

by...frykitty... 7/20/2002 08:26:00 AM ... ~link~
Thursday, July 18, 2002

The 20th looms large. Signups close, and everyone needs at least three sponsors. For the record, folks with one or two sponsors will be looked at on a case-by-case basis. My recommendation to those who are without sponsors at this point: Hie thee to the bboard and ask for ideas! Many of the folks participating this year were also with us last year. They know the ropes. Ask them.

by...frykitty... 7/18/2002 09:18:00 PM ... ~link~
Wednesday, July 17, 2002

It's great when a charity gets the web. Arun from Concern Worldwide wrote to tell me about her organization. While it's too late this year to get them on the suggested charities list, I'd like to bring them to the attention of any undecided bloggers. Concern Worldwide is a "non-denominational, voluntary organization committed to the relief, assistance and advancement of peoples in need in less developed areas of the world, while concentrating on the poorest people in its countries of operation." They do good work, and are likely to hit the suggested list next year.

by...frykitty... 7/17/2002 06:49:00 PM ... ~link~
Tuesday, July 16, 2002

I got way behind with my blogger nominations...I'll post a whole bunch of them tonight. Remember the idea--click liberally! See if we can rope in some more great folks!

Sian writes: "I'd like to nominate Shirley Kaiser and Simon Forrester, they are people who I know and greatly admire. As for someone famous, I would like to see someone from the WWE like Chyna or The Hardy Boyz participating or someone like the artist Pink." Sian later wrote to add the esteemed Jeff Zeldman.

Spookydooky goes intellectual: "You should try to get Caitlin R. Kiernan involved. She's sold signed books and galleys on Ebay for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, so maybe she'd like to do that one."

Clay nominates Penny-Arcade's Gabe and Tycho.

Jamiee says go for the camgirls! Here's a list: Nay, Teresa, Nina, Jamie Leigh, Mia, and Pamela. Didn't one or two of them already sign up?

Sorry about the delay--I wish I'd had the time to do these all along. Now everyone pick a link and click, click, click!

by...frykitty... 7/16/2002 12:04:00 AM ... ~link~
Sunday, July 14, 2002

Small updates: I've added two great new sets of buttons from Tracee and Meredith to the "Post a Button" area. I also added a very common answer to the FAQ: group blogs? Yes!

by...frykitty... 7/14/2002 07:00:00 PM ... ~link~
Friday, July 12, 2002

Thanks, Jason!

by...frykitty... 7/12/2002 06:32:00 PM ... ~link~
Tuesday, July 09, 2002

It's exciting to see charities supporting the Blogathon and the bloggers that are raising money for them. This year, two Progeria-related charities represented in the Blogathon have helped publicize their blogger's participation.

Mark will be blogging for the second year in a row in support of the Progeria Research Foundation, a group dedicated to finding the cause and cure for Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome. The PRF has recognized Mark's participation on their "News & Events" page as well as in the latest edition of their print newsletter!

The second Progeria-related charity involved this year is the Sunshine Foundation, a wish-granting organization that sponsors the annual Progeria Reunion. They're being blogged for for the second year in a row by yours truly. This year, they've publicized my participation on their "What's New" page.

Be sure to let us know if your charity has shown support for your efforts in any way so that we can recognize them here!

by...Ryan... 7/09/2002 02:45:00 PM ... ~link~
Monday, July 01, 2002

Just an FYI: I've removed the countdown for the moment, as it was showing the wrong time for anyone outside my timezone, and it wasn't playing nice with my Maccie friends. It will be back soon.

by...frykitty... 7/01/2002 07:21:00 AM ... ~link~