Paddy Tipping (Proxy Blog)

Labour MP for Sherwood
http://paddy-tipping.blogspot.com/

Proxy blog by: Aidan Boustred

Launched: September 03, 2004

Format: Blogger.com (customised template)

Comments: Yes
Trackback: No
Syndication: No

Paddy Tipping himself runs a 'bare minimum' web presence at ePolitix.com

The author of this proxy blog sums up his intent wonderfully - and shows you why this simply isn't good enough - in this early post:

What is often missing is a general picture of what your MP thinks - some MPs vote consistently with the party whip and speak rarely. The profile may tell you how many children they have and where they went to school, but to be honest, that's not really all that important. Getting a clear picture of their stance and the issues that they are currently campaigning on is difficult, without piecing it together from dozens of disparate sources. This blog and other blogs in the bloggerheads campaign exist to provide that information in a single place.

Yes, even a proxy blog that quietly ticks away bringing news items together into one central location can make a difference... even if the target MP decides that blogging isn't for them.

This proxy blog is 1st in Google and Yahoo for 'paddy tipping'.

The author not only presents relevant news items and events on his weblog, but also his own analysis and opinion. Take a look at his published correspondence with Paddy Tipping, and you *may* be able to work out why this might be a problem for that MP:

If Blair remains PM then I would be unable to support you, as a candidate for his party, at the next general election. Furthermore, I cannot see any grounds for not supporting a formal impeachment process in order that a proper debate can be held; were you to withhold your support then I regret that I would no longer be willing to support your election as my parliamentary representative, regardless of your stance on other issues.

And this is the man who controls a large section of Paddy's information stream (i.e. what the bulk of web users find and read when they search for 'paddy tipping').

A lesson many MPs have to learn is that it is now quite likely that they too will be overtaken on the web in this way. If you wish your opinion to be read and considered first, first you need to publish that opinion and be willing to expose it to a little scrutiny. These are the new rules, and there is no avoiding them.

Yes, some MPs may be forgiven for wanting to keep their head down, but if your only defence on issues such as party leadership is a resounding 'no comment', then don't be surprised if other people continue to comment on it in your absence.

Posted by timireland on September 3, 2004 12:32 PM in the category Blogs: Proxies

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