20081203

My Swedish blog as Mayor of Vaxholm

I fired up a new blog (in Swedish) a couple of weeks ago at www.mosseby.com.

I'll use that blog with the ambition of having an intimate online relationship with the citizens of Vaxholm. During my years as a politician, I have heard one above all from the people in Vaxholm: "We don't know what's going on!" I want to change that.

I also acknowledge that times really have changed. People can't/won't/don't want to acquire information in the same way as yesterday. People seldom want to spend a few hours after work on workdays to listen to/discuss local politics - unless it is something that affect them immediately and significantly.

Yesterday's model with general meetings, covering a broad variety of different stuff, is simply not the format. If a certain road/school/arena/building is in a process of change, people want to be able to find specific information about what the change is about, what the likely outcome is and what considerations that has been taken. They do not want to try and parse through a number of protocols, which in the end doesn't state anything more than the actual decisions, anyway.

People also want to affect the processes for change win input in a direct, and often open and transparent way. Through forums, e-mails and IM to their politicians and officials. And the politicians and officials need to have a workflow that give them the opportunity to use such input in a contributing, positive and creative manner. Not to be seen and felt as a burden, as it seems many looks upon such input today.

So that's going to be part of my mission as Mayor of Vaxholm. And I'm starting with www.mosseby.com.

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