Going Pink For October

Is the slogan devised by Matthew Oliphant of Usability Works to draw some international attention to the American National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This campaign is supported by several U.S. public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies ‘working in partnership to raise awareness and provide access to screening services’.Their simple goal, again in their words, is ‘to create awareness of breast cancer issues, especially the importance of early detection’.

Well, that’s a noble cause. There are many others – so what’s the big deal?

Matthew’s original idea was to try out how much pink any site could carry in its design before it becomes too much. As a result, the idea was launched to try and get as many sites as possible to go pink and to link it to an organization worthy of this initiative. Going Pink For October was the result, and being a good 9Ruler, Matthew managed to convince most of the other rulers to join him. It’s that simple, really.

Great, okay, but even then – what’s your part in this?

Well, I can’t say I’ve had much experience with breast cancer in my life. A good friend of mine once spent a horrified few weeks thinking she might have it and needed all the support she could get while she traipsed to and fro between the various doctors’ and specialists’ offices. I cannot imagine what it would have been like if the diagnosis had been positive.

Also, my mom died from cancer (a different kind, but nonetheless) so I know what that can do to people. And finally, although rare, breast cancer can also occur in men and does so increasingly. But that doesn’t even matter, really. Cancer is cancer and a disease is a disease and I’m happy to support any initiative that creates awareness and, most importantly, raises money – so there.

Yeah, but then why isn’t your site pinkified?

Because I’m a lazy n00b who can’t be bothered – well, not entirely. I looked into upgrading to WordPress’s CSS customization scheme, but it all seemed too complex and cumbersome at the time. I have no credit card, so payment would become another hassle. I can barely keep up with posting, so where would I find the time and, finally, if Scoble can live with a WP blog, why can’t I?

So I’ve decided, instead of losing several years of my life to upgrading-stress, of spending the time and money differently and donate the cash to a local organization and make everybody happy. Next to doing what I can do with my template, I would have liked to see, however, a temporary WP template that went all pink, so that we multi-users, too, could go pink en masse. A pinkified WordPress – that would certainly get the attention.

So go check out the links above and read up on the matter at hand, go pink yourself, donate or post about it and become part of yet another example of how easy it is to get a bunch of people together and make a difference. That’s why I’m in.