Steve Harrelson calls his Under the Dome blog a "legislative journal," and the Arkansas House majority leader says starting his blog is "the smartest thing I have done as a public official." He points out that in order to engage more readers, he actively seeks to include more graphics, radio clips, video, and a weekly poll. Harrelson, a Democrat, was elected to his District 1 seat in 2004 and became House majority leader in 2006.
Why did you consider blogging?
I began operating my own blog after considering ways to get my message out to my constituents without a media filter. Running a blog seemed to be the most feasible and economic way to converse with my constituents and others on issues important to them without having my comments interpreted by a third party.
What is the brief history of your blog? How was it received by the public, the media, and your colleagues?
I started my blog during the first week of the 2007 session in January. It was a great time to start the blog since legislative interest was up due to the session. It garnered some media attention initially, which helped raise the readership significantly. The task now is to maintain the traffic after the legislative session, which can be difficult. One way I've tried to combat that is to include a weekly poll for readers to vote on local topics of interest.
What is the goal of your blog?
The goal of the blog has been to reach as many constituents as possible and to maintain my promise to be accessible to the needs of my district.
What do you like about it most? Have there been any negatives?
One positive aspect of having the blog is that any time a hot issue comes up in Arkansas politics, people will read the blog to see my reaction -- this is also the biggest negative of the blog. You're expected to have a take on every issue, and a failure to post on a hot topic can be interpreted as a dodge.
What advice do you have for other office holders considering blogging? What are the benefits and the pitfalls?
I'd encourage more public officials to begin blogging. It's the smartest thing I've done as a public official. One of the pitfalls I've had to overcome is the complexity of some of the html and javascript code language. In order to attract more readers, I've attempted to include lots of graphics, radio clips, and video of events from around the state.
EXTRA CREDIT: That McFadden guy. Could he run for governor in your state right now?
Darren McFadden would be any opponent's worst nightmare. If he declared for my office, I'd probably drop out of the race.
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