Amanda Congdon, the former star of the Rocketboom video blog, has kicked off a new project--a vlog detailing her road trip across the country.
The five-week trip is being sponsored
by Ford, which provided an Escape hybrid SUV, and two environmentalist nonprofits--the National Resource Defense Council and the Environmental Council. Blip.TV, an online video sharing and technology
site, is powering Congdon's video blog, dubbed "Amanda Across America."
Congdon said that she will travel from Connecticut to California, meeting with other bloggers--"both known and unknown,
popular and unpopular"--along the way. "There are two focuses of the trip," Congdon added. "One is to raise awareness about the environment, and the other is citizen journalism, or network
journalism." She also intends to interview politicians and environmentalists during the cross-country trek.
Congdon's career in the video blogosphere was launched with Rocketboom, which she left in July following a highly publicized dispute with the site's producer, Andrew Scott Baron.
Congdon intends to announce a number of new projects--including an upcoming TV show and other video blogging ventures--over the course of the trip.