Senator Andrew Bartlett
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
 
First Birthday for this Blog
I posted my first blog entry a year ago today. It started out by saying "I'm currently trying to think of ways to break through some of the limitations of our political process." I then went on to talk about mandatory detention and basic principles of the rule of law in a democracy, topics I touched on many more times.

Starting the blog was an experiment in trying a few different ways to address the limitations of our political process. I didn't make any announcement that I was starting the blog or try to use it to generate media interest. I wanted to let it develop on its own merits (or lack of them) and see whether it could be a valuable medium for communication in its own right, rather than just a gimmick.

A year ago, I was Leader of the Australian Democrats and that party held the balance of power in the Senate. Since then, I have stepped back to focusing on being a Queensland Democrat Senator, and the Coalition has been re-elected, gaining a majority in the Senate in their own right.

I think it is easy to overstate the value and impact of blogs, whether on politics, the media, or wider areas of information. As this item says, "the cause of blogging is not helped by unwarranted and blind enthusiasm". However, I also believe web diaries and other online mechanisms have the potential to significantly improve understanding of issues and provide wider access to useful information and opinions – something that is particularly important given the lack of diversity offered through the mainstream media. Blogs can also play an important role in countering some of the lies and misleading assertions regularly fed into the mainstream media. I find growing benefit in perusing other blogs and email bulletins for information that I don't find in the traditional channels.

In the year since I started this blog, I have posted 289 entries which have received an estimated 1400 comments, all but one of which was left on the site for anyone to view. I have found it useful as a way to test some ideas, get feedback and get a bit more value and use out of some of the things I do. I have experimented a bit with layout over that time. In response to reader feedback (i.e. complaints), I changed the original colour scheme.

As to whether it is a valuable medium to encourage politicians to use which could serve to improve political processes or understanding in a significant way, I think the jury is still out. The positive potential is definitely there in theory but whether it can be achieved in reality is an open question. Despite its potential niche role, the audience reach of most blogs is small, which means it will be hard to convince politicians at the federal level to take it up in a comprehensive way sort of way.

Whilst a reasonable amount of what I put on this blog reuses stuff I do for other purposes, a lot of it isn't and it obviously takes up a bit of time. That said, I usually enjoy doing it – and find some of the comments of particular interest. However, as with anyone, I will eventually have to assess whether it's a sufficiently beneficial use of my time. I've noticed many blogs come and go in the year since I started, but I plan to still be operating a blog of some sort for at least another year.

As part of continuing to try ways to improve the value and benefits for me and for readers, and to make the blog a closer part of my main website, I'll soon be switching from blogspot to Wordpress. Details of the shift will be posted here and I hope you follow me across to the new site.

posted by Andrew Bartlett @ Wednesday, August 17, 2005 Permalink
|


<< Home