The Next Challenge

A few months ago, I proposed that we throw the weight of the blogosphere behind a cause. I was looking for something outside the mainstream that we could all agree needs to be fixed. Later, I read a comment about the BBA Christmas party proposing that bloggers support a political candidate. That post later went on to say (correctly), that bloggers were unlikely to agree on who that candidate should be.

There is something that we can agree on, though. And, I think that bloggers are perfectly suited to the task because we spend so much time online. The problem is online predators. I think that the blogosphere ought to be able to do something about them.

So far, all I have is a half-baked idea. But, the only things stopping it from working are that I'm just one guy, and possibly a few layers of bureaucracy. There are agencies that hunt down internet predators and bring them to justice. They're easily outnumbered, though. I propose that we, as an internet community, turn the tables. There are millions of bloggers. If only a small number of them were aiding these agencies, we might be able to make a difference.

In theory, all we should have to do is run an instant messenger while we are blogging and assume a child identity. Then, we report our findings to the proper authorities. In practice though, anyone who wants to participate would probably have to take classes. The agencies that do this are trained in getting the necessary evidence to get a conviction.

The first step is to get in contact with the right people. I've got some leads as to who that might be. If you are interested in my proposal, I'm looking for someone who can help make the initial contact, to find out whether my idea will work.

Email me (from my profile) if you are interested in taking this further.