The New York Times recently summarized the blogging pursuits of federal legislators. It's a handy synopsis of what's going on in Congress with blogging as well as the benefits and limitations of the medium for those in office. Currently, only four legislators maintain blogs on their congressional websites: Rep. Pence (R-IN), Rep. Harris (R-FL), Rep. Kirk (R-IL) and Sen. Leahy (D-VT). Yes, that's right, Sen. Leahy is the only Democrat in the group. The grassroots momentum and fundraising generated by the presidential campaign blog of Howard Dean, a friend and fellow Vermonter, has not been lost on this sage of the Senate.
The author, Brian Wingfield, highlighted some important points:
- Their blogs are one of the most visited parts of the their websites;
- Often staff members do the updating;
- They rarely provide links to other blogs; and
- It's a place for those most devoted to the official to stay connected once in office.
Blogs are certainly more interesting than the endless press releases that make up much of the content on congressional sites. I also recognize the pressure to not link to other blogs. Once linked, always linked, and that makes the legislator an easy target if a blogger (or commenters) go off the political deep end. None of the legislators' blogs publish comments, and only Rep. Kirk offers a link to send comments via a web form. Sen. Leahy has a "feedback" button, but it wasn't hyperlinked to anything when I tried it.
Wingfield also quoted Mr. Brad Fitch, of the Congressional Management Foundation, "which helps educate Congress on running its business" (I can hear you thinking, "huh?"):
He [Fitch] believed that members of Congress who do not blog "are missing the boat."Ding ding ding! Correct answer! You win a two-night stay at the EconoLodge in Reno, Nevada. Legislators already have websites, and the only significant cost of the blog is the staff time to maintain it daily. These aides are used to writing quickly and often. This shouldn't be a taxing responsiblity (Uh oh, I used the "T" word)."It's an opportunity for them to match up with constituents in their district, virtually free of charge," he said.
I just have one slight correction for Mr. Fitch. He said, "I don't think there is a definition of blogging." Well, there is an implied definition of blogging, and it's quite broad. Mr. Fitch, I know what you meant, and I think the blogging community should narrow the definition.
Which legislators will be the next to capitalize on a blog? Sen. Obama had a popular blog for his campaign, but he has not continued the blog on his current site. To be clear, Sen. Obama's campaign was a client of ours, and we also helped design his current site. I would not be surprised if Sen. Obama brings a blog to his congressional site. He is a fantastic communicator, and he understands the power of online communities.
Are there any other winners from the last election cycle who continued or discontinued their campaign blog?
In the 2006 cycle, many candidates will have blogs, so will the winners have seen the value of the medium and continue the conversation on their congressional websites? How can the legislators better use blogs eventhough they don't want full, open publishing of comments or links to other blogs?
Update, 3/2/05: Molly Norton Chapman has a great article on Personal Democracy Forum that goes into further detail about bloggers in congress. She includes a great link to a list -- maintained by the National Conference of State Legislatures -- of congressional bloggers.
