Why Blog?

Having first conducted academic research on the use of weblogs by political actors in 2005, I have often asked myself why don't I have my own weblog? Initially, I thought that it might help my research by giving me an insight to the technology, or provide credibility with my sample. I rejected both motives as spurious.

Since 2005 the number of blogs in the political sphere has rapidly increased, and now that the bandwagon effect, of having to use a technology because ones peers do, has passed I feel now is the right time. As a result of waiting, I hope that this blog will not be a one-minue wonder, but a steady part of my life.

In terms of political blogs, and by this I mean journalists, commenters and political actors who blog, I feel that they fulfill two key functions. First, they can supplement traditional media, or even provide an alternative to it, for news sources. Second, they provide a means of self-expression, one which some political actors realise. Therefore, as a personal tool I associate blogs primarily with individuals, and not corporate bodies. So individual elected representatives can easily use a blog, but I am much less convinced that a political party as an entity can effectively use a blog.

I hope that my blog will provide snippets of information for my students, allow me to highlight stories I think are of interest and help develop my thoughts in my research areas. I intend to cover not just political PR, but also its components such as pr, marketing, marketing communications.