How to Use Blogs to Lead Local Communities

Online communities connect people all over the world with common values and goals. Sometimes, however, the hardest thing to do is connect with someone in your own backyard. Blogs have been very successful in building communities across oceans, but they are also helpful in maintaining local solidarity. Here’s how to use blogs to lead local communities.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Advertise the blog. Local newspapers and special events in the community are a good place to start. Churches, civic centers and chamber of commerce chapters are also excellent vehicles to announce the community’s newest way to communicate.

2. Invite local leaders to post on the blog. The Huffingtonpost.com is an excellent example of how like-minded people post to a blog. City council persons, principals, lawyers and perhaps even the mayor are good choices for blogs. Make sure there is an opportunity for the everyday man or woman to sound off as well.

3. Make sure there are limits. Flame wars are prevalent throughout the Internet. The blog should become a place where pure emotion runs amuck. Accepted behavior should be outlined on the main page of the blog and a link to accepted behavour should be in the signature of the blog’s owner.

4. Stay on top of local news. The blog will have no value if it doesn’t address what is going on in the community. Allow both sides of an issue to be addressed on the blog and make sure that statements of fact are outlined as such and statements of opinion are also clearly stated as such.