National Party MPs have entered the blogosphere via an official looking blog attached to the National Party’s website. It’s called Meet your MP.
Kiwiblog posted on it earlier today. I guess David Farrar had the job of announcing it to the world. Nice video clip of Hekia Parata leading it off. Nice quality. Innocuous posts so far, some with a promotion angle for a government policy.
I posted a comment on the first few posts asking each author; Simon Bridges, Chris Finlayson, Hekia Parata, Eric Roy, Craig Foss whether they had written the posts themselves, and whether they had posted them.
In the blog world, it’s pretty much expected that to have credibility you need to not only write your own posts, but also post them yourself. Otherwise it becomes a PR exercise and lacks authenticity. I asked the questions in my comment posted about 11am this morning. None of my comments have appeared yet.
Not a good start.
You cheeky bugger.
@IrishBill LOL
– Good to see competition opening up.
I don’t think it’s occurred to them yet that blogging might involve two-way communication.
{deleted- threadjacking- Grant}
i thought kiwiblog was the national party’s blog….
Clare, are you assuming that the Nats are going to put comments online? Various of their sites (eg the Foss/Tremain joint effort) invite comments but don’t seem to put them up. Looks like the group one may be the same. Might pay to ask your questions face-to-face.
FWIW, one of Red Alert’s strengths is allowing comments.
One MP reveals he lives in Southland. Everybody wants to live there…. now
@Phil Having comments is not only one of Red Alert’s strengths, it’s an essential component. It’s direct and real engagement with MPs. That’s the whole point of red Alert. If the National party MP blog is just an attempt to say “look at us we’ve got a blog too” then that’s counter-rpoductive because it’s not real.
But I withhold judgement until I can get an answer out of the MPs on whether they write their own posts, post them themselves and also allow comments (and respond).
I particularly like the “Go to your Electorate” feature. Choose Mt Albert to see some lovely pictures of Melissa Lee and John Key in happier times…
I see that Sam Lotu-Iiga is still claiming to be an Auckland City Councillor – didn’t he resign from that position just in time to prevent a byelection and thus leaving his ratepayers unrepresented in the Super City debacle?? Wattaguy!
Comments via a blog post are a terrible way for MP’s to interact with each other – you’ve got far better channels for that – so it doesn’t suprise me that your questions haven’t been posted.
“Meet your MP”, fortunately none of them are my MP.
Can’t see you comments yet Clare.
I took a look at site and added the link to my aggregator. Lots of messages immediately came down. When I opened one it was all headline and no content! The feed was immediately deleted. If Meet Your MP expects me to wait on them to read what they have to say then I’m not interested. I can read Red Alert in my own inbox, a much nicer way of reading a blog. Keep me informed if they say anything of note.
Finlayson’s post on the arts is laughable at best – it’s like a third form debater taking the affirmative on the topic ‘The National Party has contributed a lot to the arts in New Zealand’. And he trumpets how many National party people sit on arts boards…care to out them all Chris?
Wonder if Bill English’s first post on their blog will start off:
[...] Erm, no. I don’t mean the National MPs’ one. [...]
They may be filming the 3rd Twilight movie in Dipton… theres an empty house …. down a long road.
Adam was not impressed, despite being from the right. As party blogs go Red ALert is worth reading, provides much amusement and sometimes food for thought
@Ghost LOL
@Phil A If “Comments via a blog post are a terrible way for MP’s to interact”, then why do some Nat MPs comment here? (Aaron Gilmore from memory, another one or two IIRC, the Search feature doesn’t return comments sadly, maybe Clare has time to look at the sign-in file.)
@Adam. Yes. Red Alert promises “the voices of Labour MPs” and you know, I can hear them when I read their words. Authentic. Sadly, the NationalMPs site doesn’t ring true. Maybe it will change.
@toad: More likely it will start:
LOL, good one Phil.
Phil: hahaha, nice!
Hehehehe – I see Sam Lotu-Iiga has updated his page. I have a copy of the original showing the claim that he was still an Auckland City Councillor if anyone is interested. Good to know the National Ltd® PR cretins are monitoring Red Alert.
All a bit sad really – all I see is the PR spin – again.
Kiwiblog *is* the national party blog. Why do they want to set up another blog? Isn’t this diluting the brand?
And I note you can’t even comment on the ‘witterings’ unless you pass a triple id test… or something similar. Sigh. These guys are scared.
I always thought National should call their blog “Blue Rinse”.
Argh, censoring all comments is a one-way street to killing a blog. I’m glad that Red Alert doesn’t do that.
interesting site – when you go to a “blog” post, the browser title says ‘News Article’. It also seems to be paid for by you and I given the Parliamentary crest on the site.
Mike Clare etc – I am out of the country but I wanted to test how long it took to get a response from young Cougar bait to whether in fact it was funded by MPs the party or the taxpayer – but didn’t have time to set up their required account – can someone else try. Btw we decided that taxpayers wouldn’t fund this site.
My impressions: Videos are autocue. Note the odd stumble when they mis-read. Written words are the (insert name) variety. I learned that Craig Foss’s parents celebrated their 50th… Simon Bridges and wife had a wonderful Labour week-end… Melissa Lee accompanied the Min. Foreign Affairs to Korea to assist him… Hekia Paraka is a playcentre baby… Paula Bennett is staunchly proud of her Westies.
Nice to know the country is in such capable hands.
young Cougar bait? Someone please explain that? Is that Bridges nickname circa Labour Party?
Because I’m in a critical bitch mood this week I have to say the blog is unfortunately indicative of National. Dull, conservative and lacking in content. Yes, it just looks like they are copying you guys and gals.
Blog/media releases and Party information on the same page…..bad. Very hard to turn that into something better than advertorial for the Party which is boring.
Their posts are going to be nowhere near as good as the ones here because sadly the National Party lacks any MP’s who I could see would be good blog writers. And that’s what a blog is all about. Take Mallard for example, who is a grumpy sod but can write well. Grant Robertson writes garbage, but he can still write well. Even Clare, you have improved, not on your content – that’s still dreadful – but you have improved your blog writing, which is a skill on its own from formal writing.
THe excitement will be when Tau Henare is allowed on. I predict Tau’s time on the blog site will be short, sweet and result in disciplinary action.
Does the b**** word get you into moderation even though I use dit to describe myself? Come ON!!!
You really need to start becoming more ladylike, Kate.
*************
To be honest, I think that the debate on that blog will be dampened down by various legal grey areas, especially in terms of the Cabinet manual.
Cant see it being any better than an online version of Pravda, with MPs toeing the party line.
Cougar bait LOL
Hey Kate. Don’t be so impatient. We can be a bit haphazard but we do monitor the site regularly. Don’t know why your comment went to moderation. Bitch isn’t that bad, I’m sure you’ve called yourself worse things. Don’t ask me about cougar bait. Not my thing.
Thanks for the back-handed compliment. RA is doing ok.
I think the term cougar bait was coined when the MP in question supposedly admitted privately that he had the hots for a certain member of the Families Commission.
can someone ask Tau Henare about his gleeful declaration today that he breaks the law every day? Bizarre behaviour!
Wow I feel dizzy from all the spin on “Meet Your MP”. It’s really dull too, not to mention I’m confused how on Chris Finlayson’s post the lone comment rambles on about ACC. Am I even looking at that right?
What a useless blog that’s been setup for National MPs. I predict that some of their posts will be something like complaining about a lack of toilet papers in some public toilets somewhere or similar irrelevant issues. They’re the MPs in the current government and they should write about issues that concern the country and not write about themselves being self-important & irrelevant issues. At least I can come here and engage/debate on issues that concern me even I am on the opposite side of the political spectrum.
Hi guys,
On the basis of the new National blog, I’m switching my vote from ACT to Labour.
I’ve never seen a more boring website.
Only a Tory could write that stuff, and not vomit from boredom.
I can’t stand by and watch these Tories bore our country into oblivion.
So, I shall vote for you.
This has the potential to be fun.
Picking up on the above:
1. NationalMPs now requires registration: I don’t remember that being there early yesterday (but I may have missed it.)
2. There is now one and only one ‘comment’ that appears on all eight ‘posts’, all showing an identical timestamp of 4.04.11pm.
Cactus
I am extremely annoyed with you. I have been calling for Tau Henare to blog for National for several weeks on Facebook and on Gotcha! You have not acknowledged my spade work at all but have simply stolen my idea.
Bugger seeing Trevor M. going head to head with a bropken legged Nikki K. on unicycles, I want to see him give Tau Henare the verbal bash in the blogosphere. That really would be entertaining.
I know this will have me blacklisted by the VRWC but the Blues really do need to take Red Alert as a model of political blogging.
Bryan Spondre
You are very noble Willie.
Whats more – its a useless way to try and post comments – frankly, they have made a bad job of it, and like everything the Nats do – its token!!
@ Bryan, in that case you could acknowledge my spade work which was reported in hte blogworld four months ago, from memory. The truth is success has many parents.
ACT will also not accept comments that don’t conform to the NACT line.
I feel like Labour members are really accessable via this blog. I’ve had better responses and action from here than from formal meetings with National MPs. At times it can be a little to much govt-bashing but it is real compared to [insert name here] National.
Doesn’t seem to stop them advertising businesses being run by their supporters. Yesterday’s comment included a link to the business being mentioned. The National Ltd® cretins running the site have obviously been doing some heavy redacting in the 24 hours.
Boy oh boy, start counting the number of “I’s” – written and verbal. You won’t get very far because you’ll be in a coma long before the finish!
What a bunch of self-absorbed prats.