UK Government pilot gives civic leaders blogspace

We shall soon find out just how enthusiastic UK local politicians and officials are about living e-democracy, rather than just talking it up, through a Government-funded blogging project. Readmyday offers civic leaders free blog space and support over the next six months. The project invitation says:

The project is about keeping an online electronic diary and will aim to benefit you by providing the 'know how' and coaching on how to do this effectively from experienced public sector bloggers. If you join you'll have the opportunity to start your own, individual and customisable blog as well as get involved in a community of bloggers who will share ideas, experiences and the civic leadership theme.

The invitation adds that the partners in the project include the Hansard Society, NorthLincsNet (North Lincolnshire Council) and contribution from experienced bloggers in Minnesota. The latter include Steven Clift and Griff Wigley. It is all part of the Government-funded local e-democracy project which I previously mentioned here.
One blog from Isobel Harding is already up, setting a high standard of personal chat and insider insights. It's not clear at this stage who is eligible to join the project, or where new blogs will be listed, but I should think there'll be an aggregator or blogroll to point the way.
There is a slight catch for those joining the project ... their output will be read by others and monitored. But then, for many of us knowing that someone is paying attention could be a big plus.

Comments

[David Brake]

This move puzzles me somewhat. It's not as if there was a shortage of free tools available for blog publishing. And if "sharing ideas, experiences and the civic leadership theme" is the purpose of the project, I don't know why good old fashioned messageboards wouldn't be a better choice. Communities can build around blogs but they *tend* to be tools for broadcasting of information, commentary and personal insights. Is this just a case of community networking people trying to get politicians interested by offering them the latest trendy tool?

[Steven Clift]

I think it is about discovering the right mix of interactive tools. Blogs, like e-mail newsletters, allow individuals to express themselves and generate reactions.

I am a big fan of many-to-many discussions online where all participants are technically equal. That happens to be another UK-supported pilot project on Issues Forums: http://e-democracy.org/uk

Cheers,
Steven Clift
Contractor involved with both the Weblogging and Issues Forum pilot projects

[Steven Clift]

I think it is about discovering the right mix of interactive tools. Blogs, like e-mail newsletters, allow individuals to express themselves and generate reactions.

I am a big fan of many-to-many discussions online where all participants are technically equal. That happens to be another UK-supported pilot project on Issues Forums: http://e-democracy.org/uk

Cheers,
Steven Clift
Contractor involved with both the Weblogging and Issues Forum pilot projects

[philippe boucher]

What's next? How many elected officials did start blogging?
Reading Isolbel Harding's blog I am concerned the new bloggers don't keep their stories short, ignore the basic link tools, etc.
I wonder if other countries are following/preceding suit?