The BlueNC Primary
Submitted by James Protzman on Thu, 03/20/2008 - 8:32am
Despite our occasional sparring with folks in the mainstream media, I feel like we have pretty good relationships with many of the high-profile bloggers. BlueNC folks cross-post and comment frequently, which I believe strengthens the fabric of the statewide online community in ways both great and small. Knowledge sharing is widespread, the level of antagonism seems mostly manageable, and the snark is always fun.
Last week Under the Dome, the News and Observer's Ryan Beckwith reflected all that is good about our symbiotic relationships when he wrote a post called The BlueNC Primary. I've thought a lot about his post over the past few days, and the more I considered it, the more I appreciated it. Sometimes it takes an outsider looking in to connect all the dots, see that patterns, and draw insights that we may not even recognize ourselves.
Is there a BlueNC primary?
The progressive group blog has become a major stopping point for Democratic candidates in North Carolina's primary this year. So far, Senate candidate Jim Neal; lieutenant governor candidates Pat Smathers and Dan Besse; Congressional candidates Larry Kissell, Marshall Adame, Jay Ovittore, Roy Carter, John Autry; and state House candidate Ed Ridpath, along with Elizabeth Edwards have live-blogged on the site.
::
Even Senate candidate Kay Hagan, who has taken some abuse on the site, has said she will live-blog. "I think it's absolutely as important to engage as many voters as you can," said Hagan spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan. "Certainly there's a lot of voters who read that blog."
The live-blogs are a new, and much looser format for candidates. Anonymous users can post questions, but the candidates are also free to ignore them. They can answer as much or as little as they want, ask staff or Google for help and link to outside sources.
Ryan's a creative guy and a good headline writer. Plus he's obviously paying attention to the entire North Carolina blogosphere, and beyond. I think he framed this just right. Thanks, Ryan.
**********************************************
A few more thoughts:
From my reading, almost every candidate has taken some abuse on this site, but Ryan's right about Kay. Senator Hagan is to be commended for her willingness to join us. Many in our blogging community support her, and we'll make sure she receives a warm welcome on April 1. No foolin'.
We are working with the Moore and Perdue campaigns on details and a date. Mark your calendars (tentatively) for the evening of Monday, March 31.
Be sure to visit the Dome to read Ryan's entire post. This one didn't get a lot of comments, but perhaps you can change that. If you're not reading the Dome regularly, you should be. It's the best blow-by-blow venue for the full range of North Carolina politics you'll find.
If anyone knows Barack or Hillary, tell them we'll be happy to host each of them in a pre-primary blogging session.
:)
- James Protzman's blog
- Login or register to post comments
There's lots o' comments now!
No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.
Progressive Discussions
A "mainstream" advisor to several campaigns...
argued with me one night about the influence of BlueNC. Yes, you! I know you are a lurker! Anyway, his point was that not many people compared to the whole electorate pay attention to blogs. Guess what, I absolutely agree with him.
It isn't that we are large in numbers, it is that we are focal points for local activism and information distribution. We went through this exercise once before of talking about what each person here does for the North Carolina party. We usually have two or three people at each Executive meeting, we have county leaders, we have precinct leaders, we have fundraisers, we have people who share their views with that large population that does not do blogs but are on listservs instead. Each person here has a network that they reach out to when it comes to politics. That is why smart campaigns have figured out that the 2000-3000 readers a week are important, because we may have some level of impact on 10X that many people.
One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it. - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I agree, Robert.
When I count up the number of BlueNC folks who are also involved in local parties and activism, I am impressed. No other group I am part of is that engaged.
I also think, that as the Facebook generation enters the electorate, blogs and the internet will be more even more of a focal point.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
Another good point about BlueNC
is most of the posters will cross post their sources along with their stand on an issue. I hope we are a source of information especially with our "tagging" system.
We have the ability to not only get our word out, but we have an indexing system that groups our thoughts and enables those working a cause to have an historical trail. You want to learn about cause XXX, just look it up, you will find a lot of information on the subject and it is factual (for as long as the links are good).
Because we try to post on substance with opinion vice opinions only, I feel we have greater credibility on issues. We are slowly growing into a place to go to for information.