This is spazz,
but worthy of comp entry, I feel - and I didn't want to waste a thread just by asking (see under pic)...




I was wondering if there were any B3tans from the U.S. who may or may not wish to write to their senator to get them to start a (cue yawn) weblog. Details are at my site, just follow the profile. Cheers all.

From the The Wonderful Adventures of Terry Wogan's Wig challenge. See all 283 entries (closed)

( Manic declared war on Old Media, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:12, archived)

Can I be from the US please ?
can I, can I, can I ?
( koit WWW.HIGHASAKOIT.CO.UK, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:14, archived)

Like, no way, dude.

( Baz Fuck off, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:16, archived)

totally
.
( Manic declared war on Old Media, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:19, archived)

Trust me
you don't want to be. UK citizenship's a lot better.
( Tedious, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:16, archived)

Yeah
but they have Star Trek the experience.
( koit WWW.HIGHASAKOIT.CO.UK, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:17, archived)

and we have
public health.
though i'm sure star trek technology can heal us all.
( Sargant, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:18, archived)

and
aqueducts
( Manic declared war on Old Media, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:31, archived)

Been there.
It's very good.

Heck, America's great. But being an American citizen would suck right now.
( Tedious, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:19, archived)

i also get that feeling
america was cool when i went but i dont hink id like to live there 24/7
it dont have many places of quaint charm where you can retreat from city life if you wanted to
(Alpen, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:21, archived)

that's not true
not at all....
( cwethan, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:24, archived)

I got the same feeling when I visited Conneticut
that I got when I first visited Surrey.

Very differnet places, but a strangely familiar feeling.
( Manic declared war on Old Media, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:29, archived)

I've been to
Mansfield, Massachusetts,
Mansfield, Connecticut,
Mansfield, Pennsylvania,
Mansfield, Ohio,
Mansfield, Michigan,
Mansfield, Indiana,
Mansfield, Arkansas,
Mansfield, Tennessee
and Mansfield, Texas

(plus NY, LA, Las Vegas...)
( Tedious, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:31, archived)

yeah
that makes it all worth it....
( cwethan, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:19, archived)

can i join your religion?
pwetty please
(Alpen, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:19, archived)

All it takes is simple belief
and a link of faith.

:o)

An example of the good work we do? How about an athiest at No.1 for the following...
http://www.google.com/search?q=religion+saints
( Manic declared war on Old Media, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:25, archived)

i've always like his
"ages of glass" lecture
( cwethan, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:29, archived)

for the uninitiated:
www.biota.org/people/douglasadams/
( Manic declared war on Old Media, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:34, archived)

i may
let me take a look

/looks good to me. may be e-mailing you in the future for guidance.
( cwethan, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:14, archived)

Ooh..ooh...
"In March 2003, I helped to produce the first weblog by a British MP. I'll be chasing more of these local fellows in the very near future"

Who else is on your hit list? How did you go about persuading Tom Watson? I'd love my local MP (Harry Cohen) to do something similar, but have no idea how to go about persuading him...
( matsimpsk, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:44, archived)

Sion Simon is next to go live
Current hit list?

William Hague (failed - he's 'focusing on his memoirs')
Clare Short (pending)
Lambit Opik (pending)

There's a longer list, but I don't have it to hand and this gives a pretty good indication of mix.

I'm going for people that I think are ideally suited to the format and well-placed to promote it. Short of BNP fanatics, I don't give a damn who I arm with this, as widespread use is the ultimate goal.

If you want a hand convincing Harry Cohen, just show him the following:
www.bloggerheads.com/politicians.asp

...or, if he's an elusive so-and-so, get in touch with me by email so we can work out a better gameplan.

[edit] I was lucky enough for Tom Watson to approach me. He first got in touch regarding the Tony Blair email campaign.
( Manic declared war on Old Media, Wed 28 May 2003, 23:52, archived)

Cool, cheers...
I'm not holding out too much hope for Cohen - I don't think he even has a regular site (if he has, I couldn't find it), but he seems a lot more likely to question the party line than Watson, so I think a blog would be interesting.

I'll start badgering him.

Ooh.. I suppose I could just use faxyourmp to send him the text of your page. Minimum effort for me. Yay!
( matsimpsk, Thu 29 May 2003, 0:03, archived)

A weblog
is ideal for MPs who have never got around to publishing a site (that's one of the rasons why Hague was a target). For many, it's difficult to nail down or prioritise a comprehensive overall position on this or that. The same goes for individuals, really.

A weblog allows him to express what he does/think as he does/thinks it - and then openly develop static content from that.

Just as an example, Bloggerheads.com started as a one-page weblog a year and a bit ago. The static pages resulted from weblog activity and/or directions that activity led me to.
( Manic declared war on Old Media, Thu 29 May 2003, 0:09, archived)

Yus..
that's one of the reasons I'm so keen for Cohen to get a blog.

Before the war, I knew nothing about his politics beyond the fact that he was Labour. By chance, during the backbench rebellion, I saw his name in the paper on the list of rebels, and since then I've been desperate to find out more about his views, but haven't had much joy. A blog would be great.

I'm drafting a fax to him now. If I get a positive response, I'll let you know :)
( matsimpsk, Thu 29 May 2003, 0:23, archived)