Local politicos STILL don't get blogging
 I started this blog way back in '05 and held my breath. The local bloggers are a tight-knit community. There are unwritten rules. Traditions. Things you have to know if you're going to be successful. It wasn't long before my blog was discovered by TKC. Fortunately for me, he seemed somewhat ambivalent early on. Calling me a "harmless white guy" and saying my blog barely qualified as a blog because it was too "vanilla." I got off easy. Man did I get off easy!The local blogosphere can be a minefield for a politician. If you blog, you're open to criticism. If you don't blog, you're really open to criticism. Bloggers are the pundits and beat reporters of our time. Acknowledge them. Accept them. Pay them proper respect, or die. Witness the Truman Sports Complex stadium renovation vote. Remember saveourowners.com? Stadium vote supporters lost their minds and spent a great amount of resources trying to track down a couple of guys with a laptop and ten bucks a month to have a domain. That tiny little website almost flipped an entire election. I haven't been attacked yet. It's probably coming. Not from an established blog, but that's the thing about the internet. A new blog pops up every five minutes. For all I know there could be someone right now furiously composing a screed against the unholy evil Mark Forsythe. I'll just have to remember to never pick a fight with someone with unlimited bandwidth. It's a double-edged sword. I may be the darling of the local bloggers right now, but if I'm fortunate enough to be elected, that could turn on a dime. I have over a year of posts out there for everyone to see. A little over two hundred posts if memory serves. My opinions, my stances, my raging against the machine is there for all time. If I go back on any of that, I will be roasted alive by the very people who extoll my virtues. And you know what? I would deserve it. That's why I welcome the bloggers. They will keep me honest. Indeed they may keep all of us honest. |
Comments on "Local politicos STILL don't get blogging"
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DaveKCMO said ... (5:05 PM) :
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Brent said ... (9:42 PM) :
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hip critic said ... (7:58 PM) :
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Mark said ... (10:24 AM) :
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MichelleD said ... (3:24 PM) :
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Mark said ... (3:34 PM) :
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Tony said ... (3:55 PM) :
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John Stewart said ... (4:04 PM) :
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hip critic said ... (4:08 PM) :
post a commentit's not like another blogger can really ruin you or anything. people judge for themselves. the point is that you mustn't care. blogging is about your message done your way... who cares if there's an audience! if it's well-written and frequently-updated, they will come to you anyway.
Mark, this blog is one of the best things you could do, and any politician worth their salt would do the same. For better or worse, you've put all of your opinions down in print. At least people know where you stand on things. In this day and age where it seems that the majority of politicians don't seem to stand for anything or only stand for what is in their own personal best interets, the fact that you stand for things is huge for a large core of constituents -- and would have earned my respect even if I didn't agree with you on most issues.
Mark--
It's refreshing to see such a seemingly normal (READ: nerdy) guy run for Council. My fear is you're too honest and they will eat you alive. My love is journalism and political science although my natural tenedencies are inclined to harsh criticism of most things. I currently have no dirt on you so it's probably not out there.
Hip Critic,
You can only be eaten alive if you let yourself be. Just as I am unafraid to end a sentence in a preposition, I'm not really concerned with the power elite.
Harsh criticism is fine. I open myself to that by pursuing public service. In fact, I invite it. I'm proud of all my blog posts and position papers. They are there for all time and I expect to be held accountable.
Thanks for reading.
So tell folks, is Tony (of Tony’s KC) the misogynistic a$$hole he seems or is he trying to be funny? I like to think I have a sense of humor but I can’t tell with him...
Michelle,
Having met Tony and heard him in interviews on the radio I'm fairly confident in saying he's trying to be funny.
Love him or hate him, he's the most read blog in Kansas City.
Maybe Tony will respond. He reads pretty regularly. What say Tony? Care to defend yourself?
Michelle you ignorant slut . . . I kid, I kid.
Anyway, I agree with Michelle wholeheartedly but the more important here is blogging and what Mark is doing on this blog . . . The act of updating a blog regularly gives people a better glimpse into what you're trying to accomplish.
With TKC, I'm trying to take the news less seriously, entertain myself and make sense of the all of the stuff I see in this town and try to keep it interesting . . . To me at least.
The great thing about Mark's blog is that it provides insight into what he's thinking regarding his campaign. I'd venture to guess that never before has the public had a chance to get this familiar with the thought process of a political candidate. That can only be a good thing and with so many entries and that fact that it's not a slog or written by a PR person . . . It really is a great way to get familiar with Mark and what he's trying to do.
Even better is the variety you get by reading blogs in general. From the fart jokes and misogynistic references (for your enjoyment!) at TKC to the insights into the way this city runs over on this place.
It sure beats reading what The Star editorial board has to say from the comfort of JoCo.
Oh SNAP!
Tony = Way Funny
Mark will be OK.