Suitably Flip

Blogging Above My Paygrade

Just returned from Washington, where I took part in a GOP seminar on "mastering the blogosphere", hosted by Rep. Jack Kingston's Theme Team.  Alongside primobloggers Mary Katherine Ham, Tim Chapman, Robert Bluey, and Ben Domenech, we were joined by dozens of press secretaries of Republican House members, eager to learn the way of the blog, share best practices, etc.

L-R: Ben Domenech, Tim Chapman, Rob Bluey, Mary Katharine Ham, Flip Pidot

We were also joined by Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report, who was trying to recruit Republicans to appear on his show, repeatedly promising, "I'm not an assassin."  Colbert had some interesting thoughts about the dynamics of politics intersecting with humor/pop culture.  Some of the press secretaries still seemed a little gun shy, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a handful of bookings out of the appearance.  He made a compelling case.

All in all, it was a very insightful day.  There's a formidable blogward movement afoot among Republican legislators, which could have exciting implications.  Sporadic apprehension about making the plunge seemed to be rooted in a reluctance to submit to a medium in which there is so little control over the message (which seemed to mirror the source of apprehension in accepting an invite to the Colbert Report).

Tim Chapman urged fence-sitters to recognize the "double-edged sword" of the blogosphere.  While it offers a uniquely valuable opportunity for real-time, interactive communication with a fast-growing, eagerly engaged, well-informed audience, the required surrender to the unregulated free-for-all conversation that constitutes the 'sphere can be expected to be antipodal to communications offices that are accustomed to maintaining tight editorial control.

Still, the bit-chompers seemed to heavily outweigh the gun-shy.  And everyone seemed at least to recognize that blogs are becoming an increasingly relevant segment of the collective political discourse and that elected officials do themselves a serious disservice by not at a minimum attempting to understand their impact.

Rep. Kingston's office has posted a recap with pictures and handouts (this one and that one) from the event.

The agenda:

I.    Introductions//Welcome
      
II.   What is a blog? Why are blogs important? Current trends. Q and A.    
      
         Panelists:

• Danny Glover, National Journal’s Beltway Blogroll, Tech Daily
• Marc Ambinder, Hotline Editor, Hotline On-Call blog

   

III. Who are bloggers? What do they do? Q and A.
      
         Panelists:

• Ed Morrissey, Captain’s Quarters (via video conference)
• Ben Domenech, RedState.com
• Tim Chapman, TownHall.com Capitol Report
• Robert Bluey, Editor, Human Events Online
• Mary Katharine Ham, HughHewitt.com
• Philip Pidot, Suitably Flip
      

IV. SPECIAL GUEST: Stephen Colbert
      
V.  Best Practices Session. Q and A.
      
         Panelists:

• Ken Spain, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas)
• Brad Dayspring, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
• Michael Steel, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ)
• Ryan Loskarn, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
• Patrick Ruffini, RNC eCampaign Director

Comments

Blogging Above My Paygrade

Just returned from Washington, where I took part in a GOP seminar on "mastering the blogosphere", hosted by Rep. Jack Kingston's Theme Team.  Alongside primobloggers Mary Katherine Ham, Tim Chapman, Robert Bluey, and Ben Domenech, we were joined by dozens of press secretaries of Republican House members, eager to learn the way of the blog, share best practices, etc.

L-R: Ben Domenech, Tim Chapman, Rob Bluey, Mary Katharine Ham, Flip Pidot

We were also joined by Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report, who was trying to recruit Republicans to appear on his show, repeatedly promising, "I'm not an assassin."  Colbert had some interesting thoughts about the dynamics of politics intersecting with humor/pop culture.  Some of the press secretaries still seemed a little gun shy, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a handful of bookings out of the appearance.  He made a compelling case.

All in all, it was a very insightful day.  There's a formidable blogward movement afoot among Republican legislators, which could have exciting implications.  Sporadic apprehension about making the plunge seemed to be rooted in a reluctance to submit to a medium in which there is so little control over the message (which seemed to mirror the source of apprehension in accepting an invite to the Colbert Report).

Tim Chapman urged fence-sitters to recognize the "double-edged sword" of the blogosphere.  While it offers a uniquely valuable opportunity for real-time, interactive communication with a fast-growing, eagerly engaged, well-informed audience, the required surrender to the unregulated free-for-all conversation that constitutes the 'sphere can be expected to be antipodal to communications offices that are accustomed to maintaining tight editorial control.

Still, the bit-chompers seemed to heavily outweigh the gun-shy.  And everyone seemed at least to recognize that blogs are becoming an increasingly relevant segment of the collective political discourse and that elected officials do themselves a serious disservice by not at a minimum attempting to understand their impact.

Rep. Kingston's office has posted a recap with pictures and handouts (this one and that one) from the event.

The agenda:

I.    Introductions//Welcome
      
II.   What is a blog? Why are blogs important? Current trends. Q and A.    
      
         Panelists:

• Danny Glover, National Journal’s Beltway Blogroll, Tech Daily
• Marc Ambinder, Hotline Editor, Hotline On-Call blog

   

III. Who are bloggers? What do they do? Q and A.
      
         Panelists:

• Ed Morrissey, Captain’s Quarters (via video conference)
• Ben Domenech, RedState.com
• Tim Chapman, TownHall.com Capitol Report
• Robert Bluey, Editor, Human Events Online
• Mary Katharine Ham, HughHewitt.com
• Philip Pidot, Suitably Flip
      

IV. SPECIAL GUEST: Stephen Colbert
      
V.  Best Practices Session. Q and A.
      
         Panelists:

• Ken Spain, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas)
• Brad Dayspring, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
• Michael Steel, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ)
• Ryan Loskarn, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
• Patrick Ruffini, RNC eCampaign Director