Blog Williamsburg
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of the weblog format is that it allows the site audience to have a voice. Members of the Williamsburg City Planning Commission wanted a site where citizens could voice their opinions and concerns on issues surrounding their city's Comprehensive Plan — a document detailing the city's planning issues. Top Dead Center Design proposed a weblog-style solution for a number of reasons.
Ease of Use Weblogs are a very intuitive format. A weblog provides a clear way for users to provide comments and feedback through the use of simple forms.
A Single Voice Among the options explored were forums and message boards. However, the Commissioners wanted to keep the dialogue on track by asking specific questions and guiding the discussion. A weblog provided a way to maintain this single voice by providing posting priviledges only to trusted individuals, while still allowing for comments from the public at large.
Searchable Archives Since the goal of the site is to influence the direction of the Comprehensive Plan, site administrators need to be able to go back and find relevant discussions when time to revise the Plan. A weblog by its nature records and automatically archives all posts and comments. These are then searchable by date, category, and a number of other criteria.
Designed For Future Expansion As the site continues to grow, features can be added, content can be reorganized, and the site can continue to meet the needs of the community it serves.
Will DiscussThePlan.org save the world? Maybe not. But it certainly has a place as a tool for citizens to guide public policy - if only in one community.
