Iowa House goes bloggy… sort of…
Posted on November 1, 2007 in Politics by DM
A news release caught my eye today which stated, “Iowa House Launches New Blog.” The article text said, “The Iowa House of Representatives has launched a new web log at IowaHouse.org, that features daily updates with news and information from the Iowa House.”
Encouraged - well, thrilled actually (hooray forward-thinking legislators!) - I wandered over - and was immediately taken by surprise to find out it’s only the Democrats!
“Welcome to the Iowa House Democratic Caucus website!” the front page proclaims, and goes on to give only contact information for Democratic leadership and feature Democrat legislators. So, while it’s a neat idea, I’m disappointed it’s not a cooperative venture between both parties. I’m also thinking that news release is just a little misleading.
At any rate, the new site promises live audio from the House, schedules and debate calendars. The news release says the site will use content “from” YouTube and Facebook, but I’m guessing they are mis-speaking and mean they will be posting content ON YouTube and Facebook. Anyone want to “Friend” the Iowa House Democrats??
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5 comments to “Iowa House goes bloggy… sort of…”
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Thank you for the comments on the blog! We really appreciate the feedback. There has been some confusion about the “YouTube/Facebook” elements on the site. There are a couple of ways these social networking sites will be “used”.
First, all of the posts on the IowaHouse.Org site can be shared via socialbookmarking (much like on your site). Additionally, a number of Democrats throughout the state (legislators, executive, campaigns, etc…) post material and profiles on YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, and a number of other sites - including Twitter and others. We will be utilizing this material that is already “out there” as well as generating new content to place on the web.
Secondly, we apologize for any confusion about the “IowaHouse.Org” domain name. House Democrats have used IowaHouse.Org for years as the location for their website. You can also find the website through IowaHouseDemocrats.Org.
Mark, I in turn appreciate you visiting here with this info. Can you explain the reasoning behind the Democrats selecting such a non-partisan-sounding domain name? My one concern remains that the site is not a cooperative bi-partisan effort, even though the news release (which I found on IowaPolitics.com) and the domain name sure made it sound likely that it was a cooperative effort. Thanks again - glad you are reading! I look forward to seeing what the new blog has to offer. ~ Janet
Janet: Does not surprise me at all that the republicans don’t have a blog…dems have taken the lead in this medium ever since its inception. I’ll bet the republicans will have their own copycat blog in no time.:~)
Clair, you bring up an interesting point. Indeed, talk radio seems to be the only mass medium where Democrats haven’t gotten the dominant toe-hold. (Although I will say from personal experience that Republicans are better bloggers than Democrats are talk-radio hosts!) Certainly there are some excellent right-leaning blogs and multi-blog sites out there, though even the biggest probably don’t match HuffPo and Daily Kos for sheer traffic. (Maybe Malkin comes close?) Locally, I’d love to see a “copycat” State Republican blog. But even better would’ve been a bi-partisan, jointly-managed House Blog that allowed for the presentation of both sides of key issues. THAT would’ve been a very useful tool indeed. ~ Janet
CLAIRE - not Clair. SORRY!!