We Need More Pioneers!
I have been following with interest the weblogs of aspiring presidential candidates. Howard Dean 2004 Call to Action Weblog is one I read. I had been reading Gary Hart’s but he has since withdrawn from the race. Does anybody know of any other weblogs by candidates? Does Bush have one? As I was checking for others today, I landed at Write the Web and followed a link to The Politician and his Weblog. by Giles Turnbull.
Politicians are not known for being very interesting. Nor are they renowned for their ability to keep up-to-date with modern technology.
My kids could have told him that after we spent an evening with legislators showing them weblogs - haven’t seen one from them yet… We’ll try to return next year and give it another try. Hey, we persevere!
Which makes Tom Watson somewhat unlike your typical Member of Parliament. The Labour member for West Bromwich East appears to be the only Honourable Gentleman with a weblog, and therefore is something of a pioneer.
We need more pioneers!
His site is quite unlike any Parliamentary site I’ve ever seen before. Updated every day with snippets of news, opinion and links to interesting things found on the web, it has the same appeal of many well-written weblogs with the added interest of its author’s occupation.
“I started with a ‘normal’ website when I was elected last year. It was rarely updated and frankly dull to read. Then I visited a school in my constituency and found seven-year-olds designing web pages and writing PowerPoint presentations. The lights came on and I realised that the political world was about to spin on its axis.
Hear! Hear! Just think what he could learn from some of our kids’ weblogs.
It is a huge political risk (Watson’s spoof page for teenagers caught the eyes of the national newspapers last week) but Watson is determined to stick with it.
Watson admits: “I’ll get some stick but I think eventually people will see that is fundamentally a more honest way of communicating with people who want to know what you think and do. Oh, and its also great fun and slightly addictive.”
A more honest way of communicating with people who want to know what candidates and politicians think and do - doesn’t that have a nice ring to it?
What’s more, Watson is convinced that weblogging will catch on among his fellow MPs.
“If the software makes publishing your thoughts and ideas easier, it will certainly catch on. For me, there is the advantage of getting ideas and opinions in the public domain quickly, without the reliance on your good profession (journalists) to interpret/edit what I’ve said.”
I’m hoping there will be a whole lot more risk takers who will communicate with us through weblogs. Just think of the teaching and learning possibilities…..
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