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August 16, 2007BELTWAY BLOGROLL
Investing In Netroots Innovation
BlogPac, a liberal organization that began as a tool to raise money for candidates and then turned its attention to policy debates like Social Security reform, has had a new mission over the past year-plus: improving online activism.
To that end, the group today announced six grants to "progressive entrepreneurs." Here are short descriptions of the winning projects (more details at BlogPac's site):
1) A Democratic official in Washington state will map every precinct in his state and provide information on how the precincts voted in key elections.
2) CandidateSource.com will "transcribe and catalog political content [both Democratic and Republican] found on video-sharing sites like YouTube, including stump speeches, debates and interviews." It will help bloggers and others compare candidate stances.
3) Black Agenda Report will use the money to bolster its finances and add book reviews to its weekly magazine, which "turns a critical eye on African-American institutions."
4) Blue Jersey will increase the salary of blogger Jay Lassiter to cover state politics and the state legislature, as well as pay an intern.
5) The seed money to Blogs United will help with the costs to incorporate the site, which bills itself as an organizing tool for local- and regional-oriented blogs.
The nearly $21,000 tab for the grants virtually wiped out the $26,000 BlogPac had in the bank, so now the group is asking its supporters to fork over more cash for future investments. In return for regular donations of $10 a month or more, contributors will get a voice in deciding where part of the money goes in future contests.
BlogPac also granted money to a sixth project, Soap Blox, through the 50-State Blog Network program. "Almost all of the more than 40 local blogs in the network operate on SoapBlox, and at BlogPac we would be remiss if we did not work to make sure that these local blogs are safe from malicious, online server attacks," BlogPac treasurer Chris Bowers wrote in explaining that award.
Posted by Danny | 09:06 AM
