BFMH 2014 – We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Blog

art by Piper Macenzie

Coming in to the launch of Blog For Mental Health 2014, I thought I was prepared.  I’d made some important changes to the way the campaign was set up, and I was sure those changes would remove any confusion, making this year both more inclusive and easier for me to stage.

As it turns out, I was right.  I was also utterly unprepared for the response Blog For Mental Health 2014 has generated.  As of this writing, we already have more than 60 confirmed pledges, and that number grows daily.  That may not stagger you, but in the whole of last year’s campaign, we received a sum total of 116 pledges.  In 11 days, Blog For Mental Health 2014 has received more than half of the total for pledge posts in the entire 2013 campaign!

This is something which flabbergasts me, which delights me, which fills me with hope and joy.  Additionally, many bloggers have expressed a desire to share and send along more than just one initial pledge post.  They want to share their stories ongoing throughout the coming year.  And I very much want to be able to help them to do so.

I found myself thrown for a bit of a loop on how to handle this, though.  You see, it is still of the utmost importance to me that Canvas remains Canvas — with its primary focus being sharing the amazing words of the incredible people who author here.

I didn’t stay thrown very long.  Before I even knew what I was doing, I created another blog entirely to showcase that which has become so important to so many people, myself included:  The Official Blog For Mental Health Project.

I also created a facebook page, a Twitter account, and a Google+ profile.  I really need to get myself a hobby.  😉

The general plan of action is this.  Because The Official Blog For Mental Health Project is so new, and has no follower base as yet (not-so-subtle hint that you should all follow it and share it around), the Blog For Mental Health 2014 Official Blogroll will be maintained both here and on the new site.  In addition, initial pledge posts from bloggers will be shared out both through regular Canvas social media, as well as the new BFMH Project social media channels.

Subsequent Blog For Mental Health posts I receive throughout 2014 will be shared both through the BFMH Project blog itself, as well as its social media.  Canvas and its social media will then be able to keep focused on the wonderful content you have come to expect from our amazing authors.

I know this is probably going to be confusing to quite a few of you, and there most certainly will be some adjustments along the way as I learn what works and what does not.  It’s happened so rapidly that even the design for The Official Blog For Mental Health Project isn’t finalized — I mean aesthetically.  I would really love to present it to you looking dressed up and beautiful as it will ultimately be, but right now the content is there, pages which I put together carefully, thoughtfully, and also with the utmost urgency.  I think it’s a good beginning.

I think only one more thing is very important to touch on now.  This is as new for me as it is for all of you.  While I’ve no doubt there will be a learning curve, I know that together we will make the BFMH Project work in all the best ways “to promote mental health education in the struggle to erase stigma,” just as the pledge states.

So go and have a look at the site — you will find a slightly modified version of this also as the first post there.  Poke around, read what I have put together in its pages, let me know what you think!

Love to all of you,
Ruby

© Ruby Tuesday and A Canvas Of The Minds 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Ruby Tuesday and A Canvas Of The Minds with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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