Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Announcing Spin RGV Blog

I was chatting with Sergio Sanchez of KURV after class a while back and he mentioned that there is no central source of political information in the Rio Grande Valley. He called it an information clearinghouse. There are so many things going on in the Rio Grande Valley that news organizations can't keep up. After all, there are lots of little towns and school districts and government agencies that information goes unreported. That planted an idea in my mind of what I could do to meet that need through SpinRGV.com, my other site. After seeking details of what would satisfy those needs, it seems that we are already on the right track through blogs. So, you can visit the blogs at http://www.spinrgv.com/blog to check it out.

My challenge has been setting up a blogging system on the site. The hosting plan I have with Yahoo! doesn't come with a blogging system. There are several out there, but I settled on WordPress as it allows me to establish Administrators, Editors, Authors, Writers, and just subscribers to the site. Of course, it also creates an RSS feed. Most importantly, it allows me to categorize stories. When you are talking about a region as large as the Rio Grande Valley, categorizing will really simplify sorting through all the information should the idea take off. So, I downloaded a copy of WordPress and installed it last night.

Now, I face the tremendous task of convincing leaders of the Rio Grande Valley to take advantage of the system and start blogging. I don't know how much technophobia there is amongst our leaders, but I will soon find out. Obviously, this is an unfunded, unpaid venture that I am doing to make some difference in our region. Membership to the SpinRGV blog is free. I will exercise some editorial muscle if posts get nasty. I believe, however, that members will be self-policing. After all, they are leaders.

I don't want the blog to be limited to public officials. It can also include organizations, individuals, or groups with a stake in Rio Grande Valley politics. Opinion and news are welcome from all. If you only need a place to issue a press release, SpinRGV Blog is the place to do it. Want to clarify something written about you in the newspaper? You can do it instantly there. Want to announce a public meet and greet for your campaign? Announce it with SpinRGV blog.

I would appreciate help in getting members. Thank you.

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