Reflections on one year of blogging

This week marks the one year anniversary of my blog and it has certainly been a fascinating exercise in democracy. In my posts, I try to give readers a sense of what I do as Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party and as the MLA for River Heights. I find that blogging really gives me a chance to connect with readers at a personal level and it also give me a chance to introduce to readers not only my immediate family but also my larger family – the Manitoba Liberal team. And I am excited that this team is growing stronger every day as we get closer to a provincial election.

Blogging also allows me to provide a clearer, unfiltered explanation for my views and actions. Given the fast and highly competitive nature of today’s media, it’s often hard for journalists and editors to work with much more than a quick soundbite or news clip. Here, however, I can provide Manitobans with much more detail, commentary – and even photos - on my Liberal team’s views.

Looking over website stats, it looks like the blog has been able to attract quite a lot of visits and not only from constituents in River Heights but also from people across the province. I am always getting feedback from people saying, yes, I got it right - or that no, I got it wrong. I find this dialogue extremely useful in sharing what is going on inside the Legislature and in discussing what I’m doing to fight for improvements in River Heights and for all Manitobans.

It's great to get that kind of quick feedback. In fact, when the Legislature is in session, I often arrive in the morning to find comments from Tory and NDP MLAs about what was or was not on my blog! I'm always surprised to see the blog referenced in so many different places across the blogosphere.

I have Ruslan Tracz, my former communications coordinator, to thank for persuading me to begin this blog. I was skeptical at first, since I was fairly sure it would take up a good chunk of my time to maintain and keep fresh. But Ruslan kept insisting that it was something I should do, and a year later now, I know that it was absolutely the right call. It might not be for every politician, but I can say that I definitely look forward to another year of blogging and continued dialogue with the people of Manitoba.