A 52 Week Blogging Challenge

I don't know about you, but I definitely wished I blogged more. I write plenty of posts in my head when I am inspired, but sadly they don't always (I should say - rarely) get converted to text and published. I really wanted to create a challenge, something like ProBlogger's 31 days to a better blog challenge, or the monthly IG photo challenges, to encourage others to get more posts uploaded in 2013. So here goes - a 52 week challenge - 1 post per week for 2013.

If you would like to participate, some things to consider,

• Remember, posts don't have to be text. They can be also be images, video, music etc 
• Give your posts the #DB13 hashtag (Deadly Bloggers 2013), at least on Twitter, so we can share it more easily
• Visit other deadly blogs and add a comment or two - share the love and it will be share with you
• I've repeated some of the topics so that you can create a number of posts using the same label

Suggested topics
Here are my suggested topics for this challenge. Note, some are "serious" while others are a bit fun. And hopefully they're broad enough to fit as many people as possible.

Here are the topics (52 topics for 52 weeks) -

1. hope & inspiration
2. summer
3. freedom
4. work & play
5. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
6. contribution
7. food for thought
8. relationships
9. work & play
10. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
11. language
12. work & play
13. celebrations
14. learning
15. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
16. living
17. work & play
18. love
19. the past
20. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
21. weekend/s
22. hope & inspiration
23. friendship
24. food for thought
25. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
26. NAIDOC
27. inspiration
28. winter
29. work & play
30. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
31. living
32. celebrations
33. health
34. work & play
35. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
36. make
37. success
38. travel
39. old & new
40. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
41 politics
42. spring
43. rise
44. work & play
45. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
46. summer
47. culture
48. work & play
49. success
50. favourite/s - book/ movie/ music
51. hope & inspiration
52. 2013 &/or 2014

Note: You may not want to participate in the challenge as your site may be a business or brand blog, and not personal. Don't worry, feel free to share something on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram etc. jut make sure you use the hashtag #DB13.

Hope you like the challenge idea. Sorry it's come two days into 2013. Gotta go! I have a blog post to write!

Cheers, Leesa

We're packin' up and moving

As many of you know, Deadly Bloggers began as a list of links on my own blog. I used to tweet about the list - in the quest to seek out new bloggers as well as to encourage other Murris I knew to start blogging too.

I think I began to use the #deadlybloggers hashtag after a while. But it's a bit long to be really useful.

I then decided to create a blog solely for the Deadly Bloggers list. I wanted to claim deadlyblogs on Blogspot, but it was already taken. I also had a problem buying the domain (can't quite recall what the issue was there). However I was able to claim deadlybloggers.blogspot and I also purchased the domain that same day (not that I've got around to redirecting yet). I also created the Facebook Page, G+ page and the Twitter Account that same weekend.

Slowly the list has grown, from five, to twenty and now to over sixty.

A highlight in the development of Deadly Bloggers was being able to participate in the NAIDOC Radio event this year where we talked about what our bloggers were writing about. It was great to get a few rusty blogs unrusted for the week.

But at sixty blogs, and lots of goodwill generated, I think it's time that we gave ourselves a revamp. So we're moving .... Yes. We're moving to WordPress, to a proper domain, and a few other little bits and pieces that we can afford.

On the new blog, I think I'll  allow bloggers to self-list in the own nominated categories. We will continue to moderate for spam and appropriateness. I should say here, we're not the authenticity police - we don't moderate your identity, but we're definitely still focusing on blogs that are created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, not simply about blackfellas.

I am after feedback about what categories our Deadly Bloggers are falling into. Naturally the list will have to change over time as more and more people sign up. But my list so far includes:

• Politics, Feminism, Professional, Arts (Literature, Art, Photography), Lifestyle (Relationships, Fashion, Beauty, Music), Business, History, Culture, Personal. 

Can you think of any other categories? Some blogs fall into multiple categories, so it may be useful to allow people up to two or three posts. Eg. I think Anita Heiss's blog would fall into Literature and Professional.  Maybe there are sub-categories perhaps??

Love to hear feedback from folks.

#NAIDOCBlogs done for 2012 and the "Blues" have it.

Wow! What a great week it's been for Deadly Bloggers. So many fantastic #NAIDOCBlogs. I'm really excited about the possibilities that this week has bought in raising the profile of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander blogs to a diverse audience.


Today's NAIDOC posts - 

• The Brown Couch, which is the official blog of the the Tenants Union of NSW has a guest blogger for NAIDOC Week, Aboriginal Legal Officer, Gemma McKinnon. Gemma who has just returned from the World Indigenous People's Conference on Housing reflects on issues in Indigenous Housing.
• Anita Heiss gets 1st prize for doing the most NAIDOC posts in 2012 as she provides us with another great round-up of events she has attended throughout Sydney. I feel like I'm there!!!
• Jason Glanville from the NCIE (the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence) in Sydney cleverly uses his NAIDOC post to conclude their Indigenous Innovation series. 
• One of our newest but oldest bloggers Merv Ah Kee, in his blog Yidinji Man, reminds us that the pride and solidarity shown during NAIDOC week is something that we need to do all year long.  
• Sandy O'Sullivan sends out some personal cyber-love for NAIDOC week. 
• And finally Ren on Renoriginal reflects on the celebration of NAIDOC 2012 in the shadow of the passing of Stronger Futures legislation.

It have noted that NAIDOCBlogs 2012 went to the Blues. As a Maroon, I'll definitely be working on that for 2013. And I also need to go hard on promotion to get some more NT, West Coast & Tassie representation happening on the Indigenous blogosphere.

What a fantastic initiative ABC's Radio NAIDOC has been, and thanks to everyone who participated. Thanks to the Radio NAIDOC team for their encouragement and support.

Of course, I can't go without mentioning that while NAIDOC Week might be over, Australian Blak History Month is still in full swing. Let's see how many #ABHMBlogs we can get up and out.


Can't wait for NAIDOC 2013. 

Not quite a NAIDOC footy match

The NAIDOC Twitter stream was infiltrated by a certain game of football last night with many people dubbing it the NAIDOC State of Origin. (lol)

Today on Deadly Bloggers, we have new posts

• Mark Mullins' on his Blak and Black blog has posted a second NAIDOC post for 2012 that challenges the position of the ACT's Minister for Indigenous Affairs on a local issue. 
• Oomisslulu has also posted a second post for NAIDOC Week about Australia's first Indigenous surgeon, Dr Kelvin Kong. That's an inspirational read. 
• Lisa J's has reflected on the importance of NAIDOC Week on her diary blog, Once Upon a Lifetime. Lisa's archive spans right back to 2003, and I can't confirm it, but I suspect she holds the record as the Indigenous Australian who has been blogging the longest. I think I may have to include that in the Blak History Month's Great Moments in Blakistory file. 
• And blog I added to the list just yesterday, Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist, takes a feminist look at Miss NAIDOC. Possibly a bit of controversy that people might like to check out. 

As we are now on the home-stretch for NAIDOC 2012, I'd like to reflect on the way in which so much of what is happening in social media for NAIDOC has been driven by local activities. Apart from the ABC and SBS, there is still in 2012, little acknowledgement of NAIDOC week at a national level from mainstream media - and that's both TV and print. But there is still so much going on around the country and social media combined with local print news, demonstrates that NAIDOC is stronger than ever.

But it's important to consider that if I only accessed the major television stations, I'd never know that NAIDOC was happening, but because I'm online, I've found out what's happening in places like - Blacktown, Ballarat, Rockhampton, Fraser Coast, Bunderberg, Manning River, Port Augusta, Bendigo, Toowoomba, Mornington Peninsula, Woolloomoolloo, Geraldton, Cowra, Coffs Harbour, Gladstone, Cumberland, Canberra, Glen Innes, Shepparton.

Don't forget to use the hashtags: #NAIDOC, #NAIDOC2012 and #NAIDOCBlogs

NAIDOC Week mid-week

So it's mid-week of NAIDOC week, and the social media buzz for NAIDOC is about what is happening locally around the country. 

Taken & shared via Instagram by @M4trisse at Tjapukai's 2012 NAIDOC Day in Cairns, North Queensland

Today from our Deadly Bloggers, 

• Mark Mullins commemorates NAIDOC week by exploring the art and culture of Arnhem Land on his blog Blak and Black. 
• Anita Heiss gives us a round-up of the first days of NAIDOC celebrations in Sydney and it looked awesome! Anita also had an opportunity to talk about NAIDOC to a different audience with a guest post on The Hoopla. 
• Ebswearspink gets reflective about NAIDOC on her Rambling Girlie Tumblr, with a post featuring the Triple J version of Sam Cooke's song, Change is Gonna Come. 
• And finally, Solua Middleton's ABC Open's blog gives us some highlights from the Gold Coast Indigenous community. 

But it's not just blogs, we're seeing images and reports of events from people around the continent, on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.  Rhianna Patrick from the ABC's Speaking Out, used Storify to collate images and stories from all over  social media about the first day of NAIDOC Celebrations. Storify is a great tool to curate a picture of a topic all in one place.


One last thing, Luke Pearson is leading the Get NAIDOC trending movement on Twitter. Trending basically means that a term or topic is is being talking about by many people at the same time. By trending, topics can gain broader attention and audience. In itself it's not a goal of a movement, it's an opportunity to grow people's understanding, knowledge and awareness of a topic, event, or issue.

Think I'm finally getting the hang of this radio thing. I hope I sound ok. I did manage to fit in a "Go Qld". Lol.

Deadly Bloggers Challenge

Yesterday I talked about NAIDOC posts by Anita Heiss and BlondeInk. Inspired by my daily interviews on ABC's Radio NAIDOC this week, I put out a challenge to all the deadly bloggers for a NAIDOC post. I'm happy to report that I have a few new posts to report.


Today, Lluwannee George, whose Tumblr blog normally features beautiful images of black bodies, and black fashion,  Martin Hodgson and Luke Pearson reflect on the 2012 NAIDOC theme -"The Spirit of the Tent Embassy: 40 years on" . Martin's blog - 1 Deadly Nation and Lulu George's blog Oohmisslulu, provides links to the official NAIDOC website, while Luke Pearson at his Aboriginal Oz blog provides a more in-depth reflection about NAIDOC, the theme and whether we're celebrating, commemorating and protesting simultaneously. 


Why have your own blog?
One of the great things about having one's own blog, is that it's an opportunity to create your own space. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, a blog allows you to create an dynamic archive of your life, your ideas and your interests. Facebook allows you to express your opinion in a status update, but it makes those updates hard to find later on. You have to keep scrolling down to look for old posts. You have little control over what your Facebook Profile or Page looks like. And what happens to posts you made years ago? On your own blog however you can label and tag your posts, group them together to make them searchable. You can theme your blog with the colours and images you choose. And your content, YOUR archive, doesn't have to be lost or hidden.


This tweet yesterday from Luke Pearson reminded me of how content on a blog can be useful and meaningful months and years later after it's original posting.

"Letter to a Teacher from an Aboriginal Parent 1977" just had it's 1000th view on my blog :) aboriginaloz.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/letter…
— Luke Pearson(@LukeLPearson) July 2, 2012

Still on the hunt for more Deadly Bloggers interested in taking the Deadly Blogging Challenge this week. Can't wait to share more!

Find out what is happening in your local area for NAIDOC Week.

Find out what people are yarning about on Twitter, use the #NAIDOC or #NAIDOCBlogs

On the hunt for #NAIDOCBlogs

Even though they're technically "posts", this week I'm on the hunt for #NAIDOCBlogs. I'll be on ABC Digital - NAIDOC Radio at 9am each day, talking about what's trending on social media around NAIDOC.

I've put the call out for new posts about NAIDOC from the Deadly Bloggers list, but of course, some have are already way out in front -

Monday:
BlondeInk who quite often talks about the ups and downs of relationships, fashion and food in the ACT, is a Deadly Blogger who has a post about NAIDOC in the ACT, including links to the official page as well as a reminiscence about highlights. She also provides some suggestions for how people might like to celebrate NAIDOC. Her website is www.blondeink.net 

Anita Heiss, prolific writer and blogger, last year had a guest blogger for each day of NAIDOC week. This year, Anita's NAIDOC posts began with her posting the annual NAIDOC speech by Year 11 students Ms Ruby Lew and Isabella Olsson. Their speech about Sovereignty, the Mabo decision and self-determination has special meaning this week. Anita's blog is www.anitaheissblog.blogspot.com. Her website is www.anitaheiss.com.

I'll add more posts each day!