Mayor's Blog is One!

The Elburn Mayor's Blog is one year old today. From the beginning, this blog has been a communications experiment. Could I keep it going? How critical would people be? Could I keep it interesting? Would it be worthwhile?

In the past year, I have published 104 entries on the mayor's blog. Several draft blogs were never published, and a couple were deleted because I just didn't like them. So, the average has been 2 blogs per week. Considering I sometimes feel like I'm working 2 full-time jobs, that's a satisfying effort to report.

When people have offered constructive criticism, I've made changes to individual blogs. Believe it or not, I've tried to be fair with my observations, but not everyone agrees 100% of the time. You can't write as much as I have in the past year, and not upset somebody. And, trying to please everyone, is the shortest route to failure.

It does seem like the blog has been interesting. The blog averages about 55 "hits" a day from all over the world. That probably doesn't sound like much to most of you, but for a web journal that is exclusively about Elburn events, news and politics, I am pretty pleased with that level of interest.

Now, has the mayor's blog been worthwhile? That is probably the toughest question to answer. I can't imagine Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power, recommending a local politician start a web log. Blogging is inconsistent with several of Greene's leadership lessons. Greene would say that leaders should "assume formlessness," and "always say less than is necessary." And, his advice is pretty sound, based on centuries of historical annotations.

So, what is the true worth of this mayor's blog. I believe its worth lies in two genuine aspirations: to provide information that Elburn residents wouldn't get from any other source, and to have some fun in this wonderful little community we call home.

If this blog ceases to be one or both of these things, it's time to stop. For the time being, with your continued support and encouragement, I shall continue. Thank you all for clicking here. Blog on...