News - Reports
Government Affairs Group Speaker Meeting - Iain Dale
Date: 20 February 2007
Venue: CIPR HQ, 32 St. James's Square, London SW1Y 4JR
Speaker: Iain Dale
Political commentator and leading UK blogger, Iain Dale spoke at a Government Affairs Group meeting on Tuesday 20 February.
Dale pointed out that each week the mainstream media run an article on the “new media” and blogging in particular. To understand why this was happening, Dale explained the impact that this new form of communication can have.
Of course many blogs are personal diaries. Dale and others write political blogs. He lamented that the entries that most get read tended to be more about gossip and negative stories. Dale said he too sometimes posts lighter pieces but his blog and others are also full of thoughtful discussion on policy and ideas.
In a well-rounded talk on all aspects of the blog, Dale gave examples of how his writing helped break a news story – Cherie Blair signing the Hutton report and the subsequent eBay auction – and the way younger voters can become engaged with the political process through reading a blog. Dale claimed one recruit to the Conservative party based on his appearance on Andrew Marr’s “Sunday AM” that inspired the future member to read Dale’s views and then sign up.
Dale stressed one shouldn’t overestimate the importance of blogging. Compared to the USA, the UK is behind in this political art form. One way to address this would be for every elected representative to have a blog.
A perfect illustration of how instantaneous blogging can be was provided by Steve Webb, Liberal Democrat MP. Webb was in the audience and the next day wrote up the talk on his blog.
To encourage everyone to blog, Dale offered up ten tips on how to make one’s writing eye-catching and interesting. One tip was brevity. And on that note we shall end this review.
Links
http://www.iaindale.blogspot.com/
http://webbsteve.blogspot.com/
http://5thnovember.blogspot.com/
http://bloggers4labour.org/index.jsp
http://www.libdemblogs.co.uk/