Blog Day 2005 · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Sometime in June of this year Israeli blogger Nir Ofir had a realization: the date 3108 (or August 31st) looks suspiciously like the word “Blog.” He had also become increasingly aware that as more weblogs from around the world make their way onto the internet, the more we get stuck in our regular reading habits without searching for new content and new voices from other cultures and viewpoints. Despite the rhetoric of the internet making the world a smaller place, most weblogs still link to bloggers from their same country and with their same political outlook. His solution?
In one long moment on August 31st, bloggers from all over the world will post a recommendation of 5 new Blogs, Preferably, Blogs different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog surfers will find themselves leaping and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers.
There are specific instructions on how to format your blog post in English as well as 10 other languages.
The idea has certainly caught on and is already making noise around the world. SAJ Shirazi from Pakistan has listed no less than 124 blogs which he fully expects to participate in Blog Day this coming Wednesday.  Satish Talim from Pune, India is encouraging fellow Indians to take part. Aldebarán from El Salvador, Jordi Abad from Barcelona, Spain, naevus’ corner from Italy, David Weinberger from the U.S.A., and Alexis Perrier from Paris, France are just a few examples of the many around the world who will be introducing their readers to new bloggers from other countries.
Unfortunately, it seems that Technorati's lack of support of the Korean standard character set, EUC-KR, will keep most Korean bloggers from participating in the day's events. In a letter to Nir Ofir, the Korean blogger, Hof explained why.
Though Blog Day has garnered less attention here in the United States, the Indianapolis Star did give it mention last week.
We at Global Voices, of course, couldn't be more supportive of the idea. We have long encouraged bridge blogging, where a weblog serves as a bridge between two groups of people, especially from different countries and cultures. August 31st marks a day in which we can all play that role by seeking out new blogs from foreign places and introducing them to our regular readers. If you're looking for a great place to start exploring, there's none better than our Bridge Blog Index.