Amazing. Every day we look out our little window on the world and assume it’s perfect. I did today and I am thankful for it. But the perfect day I saw isn’t true.

It’s not true.

Somewhere in the world, in places like Myanmar, entire populations are being abused. (http://adelaidegreenporridgecafe.blogspot.com/2007/09/blogging-against-abuse-people-of.html).

Or maybe it is closer. Like the boy next door. (http://thembonez.blogspot.com/2007/09/blog-against-abuse-i-am-ghost.html).

Or maybe it’s you, because you never really thought about it. (http://jerichomonster.blogspot.com/2007/09/blogging-against-abuse-verbal-abuse.html).

“Despite everything, I manage to retain some hope, in part because of grassroots community-oriented action, such as BlogCatalog’s action that spurred this post for me. Thanks to Ruby for alerting me to this. It is important. We can make changes, in our own lives, and in the lives of those around us. Start small. Think big.”

Or maybe it’s tucked deep inside and hard to write about. But you do it anyway. (http://unrelentingambiguity.wordpress.com/2007/09/26/blogging-against-abuse-a-blog-for-hope/).

Or maybe you wish with all your heart that it would stay in the past and go away. (http://childpersonfromthesouth.blogspot.com/2007/09/child-abuse-from-inside-out.html).

But you courageously wrote about it anyway. And prayed for forgiveness.

Abuse. No creature it seems is free from it. (http://skdd.wordpress.com/2007/09/27/change-your-thinking/#respond).

Nor are the people who sometimes employ it. (http://socalmuchacha.wordpress.com/2007/09/27/my-contribution-to-blogcatalogs-blogging-against-abuse-day-stop-the-abuse-of-power/).

Every day. Everywhere. Every minute. And when you think about it too much, it seems pretty overwhelming to face on your own. That’s why Bloggers Unite.

All of us here at BlogCatalog are pretty proud of our members who posted against abuse today. Every story is special. Every one unique. Many are timeless. All of them touch our lives in ways that are big and small. (http://andybeard.eu/2007/09/linking-abuse-or-linking-awareness.html).

Thank you for joining us on today of all days to say enough is enough. Let’s stop abuse. Let’s make a difference. Every post will count. Oh, they count.

For every pain we shared together today, I think we shared feelings of hope. At least I did.

http://cubeville.wordpress.com/2007/09/27/bloggers-unite-to-stop-abuse/

Because in almost all these posts and videos and radio shows, I see solutions. And maybe, just maybe, it’s not so overwhelming. We can stop it. Or some of it.

To all of you, from your BlogCatalog team. Thank you. You are making a difference. I know. Because you made a difference in my life. All of our lives, today.

Hey guys, I know it’s been a while since we posted anything conversational in a while, things have been so crazy here for blogcatalog the last few weeks that I just can’t seem to find time and blog (how ironic huh?).

As you probably know by now, we just released our GROUPS feature which has been doing really well. We already have a few really amazing groups popping up and more and more are added each day. Right now it looks like they should be out of beta sometime next week, there are a few minor tweaks that I know Daniel wanted to make so keep your eyes open for that, it should be fun…

I thought I would take a moment and highlight some of my favorite groups so far and hopefully highlight some lesser known groups too…

Writers and Writing
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/writers-and-writing

This group started by MadameX has really taken off in the last few days; with over 100 members it is easily one of our most active groups. Topics range from Writing tips and ideas to Search Engine Optimization, which are really great not just for new bloggers but also more experienced bloggers. This groups is really looking for people who are serious about their writing either “professionally, or anything in between”

Blog Straight Talk
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/blog-straight-talk

Blog Straight Talk is a group started by Rich and it is one of the most detailed and informative groups I have seen so far. With only 55 members it is no where near being one of our largest groups but read through some of the discussions and you can see that the guys and gals in this group mean business! One of the more interesting discussions is The Power Of Social Media which really starts to get interesting once our favorite history lover Stoneman joins in half way down. You can see that these aren’t just yes and no answers, these guys are bringing up interesting points.

Stumble
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/stumble

Holy smokes! After BC began removing stumble and link exchanges from the general discussions a few months ago most people thought they were never going to return… FEAR NOT as crkian has created the ULTIMATE stumble group. Seriously, what better way to launch a great post than to harness the power of the community and go big with one of our largest groups!

Bloggers Unite
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/bloggers-unite

You have probably gotten our newsletter or read discussions or blogposts about the bloggers unite movement, well building upon the idea of making a difference and strengthening the community you can now join the Bloggers Unite Group. Join the group, give feedback and add your link to what will hopefully be the largest collective blogging initiative ever seen!

Lord Likely’s Lavish Lounge
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/lord-likelys-lavish-lounge

I may be slightly biased, seeing as lordlikely is probably one of my all time favorite blogcatalog members but seriously, what is going on with his group? With topics like Which is best: beards or moustaches? and Who Urinated In My Wardrobe? I have no idea what this group is so actively talking about. Bottom line is that while this might be one of our strangest group, it also looks like its one of the most fun groups to be a part of for just chatting and socializing.

Popular Science
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/popular-science

When I first saw urikalish post a group on Popular Science I had my doubts about how well it would do but YIKES was I wrong. Click through to some of the discussions like Is free will just an illusion? And you will see that the discussions are deep. I haven’t commented yet in this group but its definitely worth a read for those looking for some interesting conversation and debate. Its filled with the type of topics that make my head hurt but I just cant tear away from reading because its just so interesting!

I am Awesome!
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/i-am-awesome

Last but not least is a shameless promotion for my very own group titled I am Awesome! – In all honesty this is probably one of the least useful groups we have on blogcatalog but hey we can’t be serious all the time right? This group is for awesome people who want to share their awesome with the rest of the world! This group is less about discussion and more about people who want to join the most awesome group in blogcatalog, and since joining the group requires approval you get the chance to see if you are awesome enough to get accepted.

Now, I have barely even skimmed the top of these groups, there are hundreds more popping up all the time and hopefully I can find some time to come on here again and talk about some more, if you have a group of your own that you think is worth mentioning, look me up and send me a shout, maybe next time I can write about your group.

Until next time guys, Blog On.

Blogging Against Abuse is right around the corner and it looks like it may be our most successful challenge yet. We are very excited about it and have created some more badges for you to add to your blogs. Make sure to thank NINE for his great work on these.

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_animal.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_childabuse.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_elderly.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_ozone.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_pitbull.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

Many of our members kept asking us to create a place where they could host their own topics and discussions and we listened. We’ve created Groups to allows BlogCatalog members to make their own communities and invite other bloggers to connect, discuss, and share ideas or interests.

With Groups you can meet new people who have similar interests and help build different communities. You can have and host fun conversations or have serious educational discussions. Whatever you dream up is fine with us … it’s your Group and the only limit is your imagination.

We already know that BlogCatalog members will create some pretty amazing Groups. We asked several members, many of them your friends, to get busy and take the beta version for a test drive. They did! And they’ve been keeping us busy ever since to make Groups the very best it can be.

Visit some of our Group beta testers at http://www.blogcatalog.com/groups and then get ready to make your very own.

We have been fortunate to be the subject of not one but two really great podcasts this last week.

The first podcast comes from Jill & Chaz over at BubbleThoughts, where they discuss how to drive traffic to your blog and the benefits of leaving genuine comments.

Listen at: http://noisefreeradio.com/blogs/bubblethoughts/archives/28

The second podcast comes from Rosie, Ray, and Kevin as they discuss their experience with BlogCatalog as well as walk you through getting started with BlogCatalog. This is a great podcast for anyone looking to get more out of BlogCatalog as they walk you through all the basics in setting up and optimizing your blog listing.

Listen at: http://bloggingforboomers.com/podcast-on-digging-deep-with-blogcatalog/

We really enjoyed the podcasts and think they provide some really great tips on how to make BlogCatalog work for you.