Beyond 495

Well, you may have heard that Governor Deval Patrick has kicked off a new website, www.devalpatrick.com with a new focus on civic engagement. The website went live this past weekend to much fanfare and a very cool town hall style meeting at the Boston Latin School that was also attended by Boston Mayor, Thomas Menino.

Local bloggers were invited to attend the kick off, and also to meet with the Governor after the shindig to talk about the website, and other things going on in the Commonwealth. Bloggers, you might remember were the first media types to talk to Deval Patrick about his candidacy way back in the day, what is that like two years now? It was a very nice gesture on the Governor’s part to invite us to the kick-off. Brought the whole thing full circle.

Like others in the esteemed fourth estate, I haven’t had a chance to fully explore the website, but also like them, I’m not going to let it stop me from commenting on it.

As you might expect from a campaign that used “new media” to such great success, the new devalpatrick.com website is innovative. The feel is like a cyber Town Square. You sign up, and then you can add an issue or policy such as renewable energy, equal marriage, or property tax relief, or you can join with others who are interested in the same issue. This is a way to organize locally and across the state, and also for the Governor’s office to get a sense of what our priorities are. Sounds awfully small-”d” democratic, doesn’t it? No wonder the local media hates it.

Meeting up with the bloggers afterward was good fun as always. We always seem to find the fun. We had a nice meal and it was good to catch up with what everyone is up to. We bloggers need to do that more often. And we will.

I recorded the blogger conference, but I’m having some trouble dealing with WordPress. Lynne asked me if she could post the audio files, but I don’t think she has yet. Look for that on Tuesday.

I got a pretty funny outtake too, that I just might throw online just for a goof.

I have some more pictures I’ll try to get online tomorrow. It’s been crazy busy for me lately. I think I was home for about 10 minutes this weekend, and about 5 minutes today.