The Wardman Wire

This year I wrote a chapter for Iain Dale’s 2007 Guide to Political Blogging. My chapter is entitled “Starting a Political Blog: Things to Think About.”

This is the introduction to my article (excerpted):

We have all done it - slogging round a no hope street in a no hope constituency in the rain in November on a Saturday or Sunday morning, when we should be at home in bed with our breakfast.

Then, at the last house in the last street, our finger is bitten without warning by a small, homicidal, dog that can just reach the letterbox when it stands on its hind legs.

Writing a blog contains many of these experiences - both the enjoyable and the frustrating. In this article I have focussed on the early days of writing a blog, and on the things you need to know at that stage - through the lens of political campaigning.

My point is that - just like running a political campaign - running a political blog has lots of boring practicalities; there is a lot of “nouse” involved. I have covered some of these practical topics on The Wardman Wire, such as The Google Black Hole, My 21 Tips for Starting a Successful Blog and others.

A New Blog…

However, I am a touch frustrated that some of the articles that take quite a lot of work vanish off the front page quite so quickly, so I am starting a new blog over at www.poliblogs.co.uk/blog/ for some of my coverage of “how to blog”.

…Needs a New Name…

I have a post over there asking for suggestions as to a name. Here are a few of my ideas:

• Ars Politica - I like the double meaning of blogging being an art not a sciences and politicians (as well as political bloggers) being “arses” by definition.
• Wardman Wisdom - a bit pretentious, but the continuity of the name is good.
• Wardman Wheezes - picks up on how well your blog does will depend on the marketing you do as well as the material you write.

The blog is attached to the First directory of Political Blogs in the UK - which is at www.poliblogs.co.uk, and is due for launch in mid-late September.

What do you think about the names?

…And a New Tag Line…

The tag line for the new blog will be “The Nuts and Bolts of Political Blogging”.

…which I have borrowed from my new book

This is the same as the title of a FREE E-Book about Political Blogging that I will be launching at around the same time.

On Holiday Next Week

I’m on holiday next week (from Monday), and there will be several guest bloggers posting here. I’ll introduce them in a post this evening.

I will also be clearing the blog to give proper coverage to several questions that have come up recently and form an interesting cluster around the influence and authority of blogs.

• The Decision of the Press Complaints Commission to regulate newspaper websites.
• The Campaign by the Institute of Health and Safety to get rid “Health and Safety gone mad” stories.
• The Place of Blogs in Public Relations.

Two of my guest bloggers are a Health and Safety Officer, and a Public Relations Consultant.

Tags: announce, new blog, guide to political blogging, ars politica, political blog directory, guest bloggers[tags]announce, new blog, guide to political blogging, ars politica, political blog directory, guest bloggers[/tags]