E!! The True Conservative Story™

Sunshine Review, a wiki project that empowers citizens to share information with one another about their local government(s), has given every state a “transparency rating.”  The rating  is based on whether or not they have websites that provide transparency and how much information the website provides. 

Categories are:  budgets, public meeting minutes, permits and zoning, elected officials, audits, contracts, lobbying, public records, and taxes.

Arizona was #1.  Vermont was #50.  Nevada is #31.  Here are all the rankings:

http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/County_websites%2C_state-by-state_rankings#Comparison_of_county_websites_by_state

This and other similar projects are part of a grassroots push for full online transparency in every county across the nation.  I fully support the cause.

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You know, if you don’t have a blog and have been thinking about starting one, or if you are blogging somewhere else and getting few (or no) hits, I highly recommend joining Blogivists.  It’s easy to sign up, fun to choose your design template, and a breeze to start posting.

Blogivists offers four things you won’t find on a lot of other blog sites:

Instant Audience – If a blog post falls in the forest but nobody hears it, does it make a difference?  Blogging can be a lonely pursuit when you first begin, but with Blogivists your blog will be added to the group directory on Day One.  Also, the most recent Blogivists posts are jumped to the front page for all to see.  Right from the start, my E!! blog got hits and comments galore – thanks to the support of the Blogivists community.

Instant Search Rankings – Because Blogivists is already ranked in Google and other search engines as well as on Technorati and other blog ranking sites, your blog will catch the attention of the web spiders and other bloggers.  This means you’ll be elevated up the rankings much faster than if you’re operating alone.  Every time your latest post pops up on the Blogivists front page or another Blogivist links to your blog, you earn rank and authority points. 

For example, when I started my E!! blog in June 2008 I was ranked #5 million or so among active blogs on Technorati, yet today I am ranked at 220,559 which is top 5%.  Also, if you Google “Elizabeth Crum” or “Nevada conservative blogs” my blog now comes up #1 on page one.  Pretty amazing for someone who’s been blogging for less than 5 months!

Support – The Blogivists IT team is nice and very helpful.  It’s easy to fill out an online support ticket, and you’ll get personal attention whenever you have questions or issues.  Also there are Help pages and webinars to guide you along as you learn the blogropes.

Awards – Besides the $250 Blogivist of the Month award, there are the Sammies and other prizes available for bloggers who want to shoot for something big.  It’s motivation to stay passionate and keep at it, which is really what it’s all about.

A reader reminds me:  “Don’t forget about the email alerts, too.  I wouldn’t have known about your blog had I of not been a subscriber to Blogivists.”

 I am delighted to have been awarded the first Ever Blogivist of the Month award by the Sam Adams Alliance Blogivists group. 

Cash prize:  $250

Warm, happy feeling:  Priceless

Being part of Blogivists has been more fun that any blogger should rightfully have.  There are many skilled (and funny) bloggers in the group, and it’s been big fun to blog, click-o-vate, comment, and make merry.  I feel honored to have been picked for the first monthly award and look forward to seeing who wins for November!

Thanks to all – and Blog On!

A friend recently asked if I jot down all my bloggy ideas as they come to me and then type them up later.  The answer is Yes, I have between two and twenty scraps of paper shoved in my purse or pocket at any given time and/or I type reminders in a Word doc if I’m at a PC when inspiration comes.  One of this morning’s looked like this:

Check out Pindell Reprt on Politicker.  If poor, slam for sub-title “dynamic and deeply reported” – WTF does that MEAN?  If good, give props.  Also, email webmaster re: typo on About page.

And the result is something like this:

Today’s Pindell Report has Nevada as most the closely contested swing state in the nation. 

The report ranks and re-ranks races by competitiveness, so the race ranked first will be won by the smallest margin of victory and the race ranked last is believed to promise the largest margin.  The report’s About page says it takes into account polling, fundraising, past election data, demographic changes, interviews with the nation’s top political strategists, and Politicker.com’s reporters out in the field.  The rankings are evaluated daily to ensure they’re current.

Seems like a good system to me, and I like the little “+2” and “-4” notations to show whether the race rose or fell on the list.  (Make sure to click on the Senate, House, Governor and Presidential tabs to see all rankings for all races.)