Q&A: David Wyld, government blogging researcher

"I truly believe that in a Web 2.0 world, we're going to increasingly expect Web 2.0 interactions with our elected officials," says David Wyld, in an interview with Municipalist. Wyld's recent report, "The Blogging Revolution: Government in the Age of Web 2.0" published by the IBM Center for The Business of Government, has been referenced and discussed across the Internet. [Download a copy here.] Wyld is a professor at Southeastern Louisiana University:

The Baltimore Sun quotes you saying that in five years about 50 percent of elected officials will have blogs. What data do you base that on? Is that more than a guess?
Well, it's an educated guess (coming from a professor, does that make it better?) What I'd say is that we're going to see blogging -- or at least more interactive websites -- become more expected of elected officials. If you look at the blog growth trends in corporate America and in the public sector as well, what we're seeing is that leaders are fast-recognizing the power of blogging as a communications medium, and they are also sensing that the blog audience is a highly desired demographic (and yes, voter group). Thus, I feel that really, this may be a conservative estimate, because the days of "static" websites are indeed numbered. I truly believe that in a Web 2.0 world, we're going to increasingly expect Web 2.0 interactions with our elected officials.

Do (local as well as some national) campaign blogs (often) make you sick? Or am I alone on that? As opposed to office holders who blog about policy, ideas, and their vision and work.
Well, I'd say that you're looking at two really completely different animals in talking about campaign blogs versus those of elected officials. Everything about them (goals, writing, etc.) are different. Campaign sites sell -- and often attack, while the office holder blog is meant to inform and to be interactive. Yes, it's all PR -- but what isn't.

What is your quick analysis of local and state office holders and their take on blogging? You show that Congress has been slow to adopt blogging. How are local and state office holders doing? Are they ahead or behind the Washington crowd in your view, if that is possible to discern?
OK, this is the question for the final exam! I'd say state and local are ahead of the DC bloggers in sheer numbers (to be anticipated with a closer relationship to their constituencies), but don't count out the folks inside the Beltway. We have two cabinet secreatries blogging and over 30 members of Congress doing so as well.

Finally: When any elected blogger swears that he or she is actually doing the blogging and not their staff, should we believe it? What are the tell-tale signs?
Hmm ... That's right up there with defining "what the meaning of 'is' is" ... I think that by and large, we have seen elected officials at all levels who make the decision to establish a blog commit to doing so personally.

Now, how much their posts are "made" by staffers is indeed a touchy subject, because it can certainly undermine the credibility of the official and the whole purpose of the blogging exercise. I think the more "PR-ish" posts sound, the more likely it is that there’s heavy staff involvement in creating the posts under the official’s name. On the other hand, I know of a corporate CEO who is a very noted and prolific blogger, but he never “writes” his posts -- they are all dictated and then “edited” to be entered as blog posts, but he regularly reads and responds to comments made about his postings -- so, is that true blogging or not?