I have received several dozen emails over the past month, from past participants in Project 2,996, asking if I will be running the project again this year.

I’ll start by answering that question: Absolutely, yes.

However, now, and in the future, I’m planning on running the project a little bit differently. In the past, the focus has always been to randomly assign names to the participants, and to ask them to post their tributes, or remembrances, to their own websites on September 11 (often called a blogburst).

Starting now, my focus is to make sure that each name on the list has at least one tribute still active on the web. I’m going through past lists to try and find people who no longer have a tribute posted, and I’ll assign those names to new volunteers.

What is there for you to do?

1. Check back here. I’ll be posting lists of the victims whose links have expired, and who now have 0 tributes.
2. Write a new tribute. And send me the link. Try to send the URL of a page or permalink, instead of the main URL of your blog/site.
3. Keep your old tributes online. Remember, the goal is to get at least 1 for every name on the list.
4. Make sure the Current List (not yet posted) includes your past tributes. It’s certainly possible that I’ll mark a link as dead, by accident. If I’m wrong, tell me!
5. On, 9/11, make sure your tributes are on the front page of your site. But don’t change links you’ve already given me. Many participants, simply repost the same information in a new post.
6. Spread the word.

It may seem like I’m starting awfully late to do this all by 9/11/2010. But what I’m really doing is starting very early for 2011, the tenth anniversary.

I’ll do my best to have at least part of the list checked and posted by the end of the day Friday, August 20th.

9/11/10 marks 9 years since the attacks of World Trade Center I and II, The Pentagon, Shanksville, American Airlines Flights 11 & 77, and United Airlines Flight 93 & 175.

On that day 2,996 people were ripped from their lives. But as the media and society tend to do, they have focused on the killers. We’ve all learned more about them than we wanted to. On that day many of us made a pledge to never forget what happened.

From it’s beginning in 2006, Project 2,996 has always encouraged individuals with their own blogs or websites to learn about one or more of the victims, and to post that information on their own sites.