Blogging For Chickens

As a result of past posts in which I’ve taken swipes at Canadian political and media types over their ambivilance/ignorance of the blogosphere and internet communication in general, I’ve been working behind the scenes with a couple of individuals who’ve expressed an interest in venturing into it themselves.
The learning curve is proving to be steep. For example, when explaining the pros and cons of opening comments, I’ve found myself explaining what a “troll” is. (“Now that over there, to the left, sir, would be your brake pedal”, said the driving instructor). What I wouldn’t give for a Usenet Wayback Machine.
I’ve discovered that explaining the blogosphere to an internet neophyte is rather like teaching a chicken to swim. All the time you’re carefully describing paddling technique, the intricacy of the currents, warning about the whirlpools and submerged rocks …. you secretly wonder if you shouldn’t just toss the round eyed, blinking thing into the water and offer encouragement from a safe distance.
The same way the rest of us learned.
That said, political types aren’t known for their risk taking behavior, so perhaps it’s more humane to direct them to this piece by Patrick Ruffini. He provides excellent advice in this post written specifically for politicians;

Blogging by political leaders has the potential to revolutionize campaign communications in this respect: it takes the press out of press releases. Blogs mean that politicians can communicate with constituents directly, without the media filter.
Yet powerful institutional obstacles remain, as evidenced by the fact that only 4 Congressional offices have started blogs. If you’re a communications director, chief of staff, or even a Member, and you’re looking to overcome internal opposition to a blog, consider this post your guide.

Oh. Who’s Patrick Ruffini?