Municipalist

Blogging city manager, on allowing comments: 'I have never really liked the way it turned out for the blogger'

Following up our Q & A with Scott Neal, a blogging city manager from Eden Prairie, Minnesota: He chooses to not allow comments to his blog posts. We asked why:

Great question. It's the most common question I receive about my blog. I do not open comments on my blog very often for a couple of reasons. I enjoy writing a blog, but I don't have enough time in my life to blog and referee the asynchronous chat room discussion that would inevitably result from it. I've seen this happen on other blogs. I have never really liked the way it turned out for the blogger.

Similarly, I just don't like the tone and content of unmediated anonymous blog comment roles. Generally, they do not add to the readers understanding of the issued being blogged about. Too many people trying to 'out-clever' each other. Fun to read (sometimes), but not fun if you're the one trying to communicate a complex idea and the comments being offered distract people from the facts, the truth or both.

Finally, I find electronic communication tools (like this email) to be very efficient and effective in allowing me to communicate at someone (like you), but not terribly good at allowing me to communicate with someone. As a blogger yourself, I'm sure you know what I mean. Most people (myself included) are not proficient enough writers to convey exactly what they think/feel in an electronic venue. It's too easy for all parties to the communication to misconstrue the information, intent, motive, etc.

I hope that helps. Thanks for asking.

Makes a lot of sense. No real right or wrong answer on these issues -- yet -- for those in government who blog to (for?) the public.

Q & A: Scott Neal, city manager, Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Scott Neal's blog is often viewed by his colleagues "as an unnecessarily risky way to communicate," Neal says. But he blogs on nevertheless, because he sees blogging by those working in the public sector as an engaging way for the public to learn about government. "If citizens are more empathic about city government, I think they’ll be more engaged and helpful to us in managing the city the way they want it managed. That’s my theory anyway."

Neal's blog is a diverse read, spanning local, state and national issues. Neal describes his city: "Eden Prairie is a beautiful, affluent city of 65,000 in the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minnesota. We are a suburb of Minneapolis. Eden Prairie was named to Money magazine’s 'Top Ten Places to Live in the United States' in 2006. We are the corporate headquarters home to such companies as SUPERVALU, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Starkey Laboratories, ATK and the Minnesota Vikings."

What is the history of your blog? How has it changed or impacted your work, if at all? I started my blog in March 2003. I’ve done lots of interviews about it, and as far as I can tell, it’s one of the earliest local government blogs out there. It has definitely changed the way I work.

When the levee breaks: Iowa local government agencies miss opportunity

Much of Iowa, including 400 blocks of Cedar Rapids (right) is underwater. But its leaders are not adequately using the Web to help. Example: The city manager of West Des Moines actually publishes his own blog. Last post: June 4. Last post before that one: May 16.

This is about a disconnect. A lost opportunity. Another example: A press conference with the City of Des Moines Public Works director shows up in streaming video on the Web site of the Des Moines Register, but the department's own Web site shows zero evidence of any crisis. More wasted online real estate, in such a time of need.

Ghosts on the Web: Abandoned blogs

They appear, maybe for a few months, maybe for less, then they are gone. Pffft. They are the ghosts of the Internet: Abandoned blogs. And elected officials have contributed their share.

There is this blog from Minneapolis, Minnesota Mayor R.T. Rybak. Last post: May 17, 2005. Then, nothing. No explanation. Rybak did this thing I have seen a couple other public officials do with their blogs: He occasionally set it up as sort of a live bulletin board, where readers would ask questions in the comments section of a single blog post, and Rybak would try and keep up with answering every single one. Through one long night. Clayton Wilcox, the formerly blogging school superintendent in Florida, did this. And it just seemed to be chaos. Some questions got answered, certainly, and it is great that a mayor would sit there for a couple hours and answer questions live, but blogs are not message boards.

And apparently, R.T. is a bit of a serial abandoner. As of today, the rtrybak.com site shouts about the mayor's new year's eve fundraiser. That's new year's eve 2006. ["$100 suggested donation."] Perhaps it is a site put up by supporters, but in his blog R.T. mentions the site as if it were his own. The mayor's attractive and formal but very boring official city Web site is arranged to look like a blog, but it is nothing more than stacked press releases. No blogging here. Though he does offer an option to sign up for an "email update." Helpfully.

One clue to R.T.'s motivations for starting the blog in January 2005 can be found in the first post:

"Thanks for coming by, I'm really excited to dialogue with you about the future of our great City of Minneapolis and my campaign for a second term! This blog is a powerful way for my supporters to organize, share ideas and news, and stay in touch with my day-to-day campaign activities ... " So extremely powerful that I will suddenly abandon the thing when I get bored with it, like Municipalist's 9-month-old otherwise brilliant son, tossing aside a toy which has fascinated him rapturously for the previous seven minutes or so, amid pealing shouts and demands for something new. And colorful. And squishy, if possible.

You can still read the abandoned blog from former Sarasota, Florida City Manager Michael McNees. Last post: May 25, 2007. McNees actually left that job under fire in January 2007. But why leave up the blog? Maybe because McNees won an award for it. So, in his final post, McNees links to his new blog at his new job, county administrator in Blaine County, Idaho, home of Sun Valley. But McNees then proceeds to apparently stop that blog, too. It is just simply gone, except that nothing on the Web is really gone: Here is the cached version. McNees blogged through various controversies in Sarasota, then shortly after he resigned under fire there, his girlfriend decided to run for the seat of the county commissioner who was McNees's nemesis. So much to blog about! We miss you already, Michael. We would email you, but the Blaine County Web site does not bother to even list anything about you or your office, much less your email address.

I am considering starting a category called Abandoned Blogs. Because they are everywhere, folks. Squishy or otherwise.

Q & A: Wally Bobkiewicz, city manager, Santa Paula, California

With fires raging through areas surrounding Malibu, California today, threatening Pepperdine University and shutting down sections of the Pacific Coast Highway, residents of neighboring communities have plenty of questions. Are they in danger?

Residents of the nearby city of Santa Paula -- "the citrus capital of the world" -- can turn to the blog published by their city manager, Wally Bobkiewicz. His update as of this hour: "Santa Paula is getting pretty smokey thanks to fires 30 miles to the east. No fire danger here." Following that post, a commenter then promptly left a nine-point set of tips for dealing with heavy smoke. And Bobkiewicz has dealt with wildfire issues on the blog before, as he told Municipalist a couple days ago, before the current fires:

Describe Santa Paula.
Santa Paula is a city of 30,000 people, 65 miles north of Los Angeles. The community is in a traditional agricultural area and ag is still big business around here. The community is close to larger, more affluent suburbs and LA is only an hour away. City is full service: Police, fire, utilities, etc.

How long have you been in your current position?
Five years this month.

How long have you been blogging?
Since November 2004. I started because the City Council was looking for other ways to use the Internet to reach the community.

What are the benefits to a city manager blogging, in your experience?
It helps keep the community informed about events and news in a more immediate way than any other media. By allowing comments, it also allows community members themselves to participate in the dialogue. Getting the community's perspective (or at least some members of the community) also keeps me grounded and keep the rose colored glasses I think we all sometimes wear as clear as possible.

What are the challenges?
Dealing with the comments. It is often a challenge to decide when a comment goes beyond the "Blog Comment Policy." I want to allow as much free dialogue as possible without upsetting folks.

Can you provide an example or anecdote (or two) of how your blog made a real difference or impacted your constituents in a positive way?
Last Fall the area was hit by a large wildfire. While the fire never reached the city limits, the LA media reported incorrectly that it had caused great concern, not so much here, but for friends and loved ones of residents outside the area. I was able to blog several times a day updates on the fire that folks both here and outside the area could use to get the latest information. I received many emails from around the country expressing thanks for the fire info on the blog.

More generally, the blog helps to set the record straight on issues. Sometimes a person will make a statement in a comment on a blog post that is incorrect. I use the blog to then write a new entry more completely explaining an issue of concern, often with an angle I had previously overlooked.

Should more city managers get into blogging? What should they know about it before trying?
It really makes a difference in being connected to the community. Before trying, managers should decide if they want comments or not. I think all CM blogs should have comments. The big difference I would make is that I would have never allowed completely anonymous posts. I believe blogs should at least require some identifying moniker for every commenter. Doesn't need to be their name, but same ID that can allow you to track a comment to a commenter.

*****
In 2004, Bobkiewicz told a local newspaper that he thinks his blog is the first of its kind in California.