News-Record.com

I, too, welcome Greensboro City Council member Tom Phillips to the blogosphere. He joins at least two other locally elected officials who blog, Council member Yvonne Johnson and Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen.

My hope is that, as public servants, they embrace the potential before them, and they use their blogs to further the principles of democracy, and develop the sites as places to give and get information and knowledge. What a wonderful way, for instance, to illuminate the council's thinking on a contentious issue or perhaps reveal some of the civic conversation that takes place behind closed doors.

I also hope that they realize a site's potential to inform their own positions (Phillips's motto "Never in Doubt" notwithstanding). Imagine, for example, asking citizens via a blog what they think of another strip shopping center north of Pisgah Church Road, what they think of the city subsidizing the hockey team, what they think of paying incentives to attract a private company. The possibilities are endless.

At the newspaper, we have particular interest in Phillips. He is known as a straight-talker who charts his own course, and, last I checked, he refuses to talk with our City Hall reporter, Matt Williams. Tom doesn't like the way Matt frames his articles and thinks that Matt gets it wrong too often. Fair enough. That opinion is his privilege. Now, through his blog, he can hold a virtual 24/7 news conference, answering questions, setting the record straight and holding a very public conversation. Let's hope he does.

Joe Trippi, in his book "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," has some advice for politicians and institutions (like, say, a newspaper). They include: Tell the truth. Keep up a daily dialogue with your constituents. Build a community. Get people involved. Cede control.

Good luck. We're all rooting for you.