The fishbowl

Welcome to my 2011 diary, a more or less daily glimpse into the transparent life of a political hermit. For starters, here's my annual state of the site report, plus some other odds and ends.

BlueNC
Things at BlueNC moved forward on a more or less even keel last year. Readership rose gradually, building up to the election, where we got close to 10,000 visitors a week. Readership mostly hovers in the 3,000 to 4,000 range. As in the past, a small group of a few dozen regulars account for most of the posts and comments.

From a technology and operations perspective, the site is more stable and more secure, having had the benefit of reliable support. Overall expenses and grants made totaled around $15,000. The business model is purely non-for-profit. This is not about making money. Last year BlueNC stopped accepting advertising, primarily because most it's so darn ugly in terms of graphic design. Given how much time I spend here, ugly is unacceptable.

Instead of advertising, we have The Right Rail, a place for experimentation. Content changes as often as I get around to it, and I have no idea if that is often enough - or too often. I have no idea if anyone pays any attention to right rail content or not.

If you have a progressive business or non-profit, I am open to running your advertising at no charge. The conditions are simple: the ads must be beautiful, smart, and compatible with the look and feel of BlueNC (160 x whatever). Let me know if you're interested.

Candlestick
One experiment we ran last year was called Candlestick, designed to create a platform for connecting progressive non-profits in North Carolina. Grants were made to organizations that posted content about their issues here. Two non-profits in particular, the Institute for Southern Studies and NC Sierra Club, took up the challenge. Many thanks to both organizations. (Let me know if I'm current on grants.)

If anyone has ideas about how to make Candlestick work better, let me know. My plan is to refine the experiment and run it again with a larger funding pool this year. I'm open to alternative proposals.

BlueNC Radio
On the fun front, 2010 was a pilot year for BlueNC Radio. We had some good shows. Unfortunately, I can't stand hearing my own voice, so I stopped the webcasts. If anyone wants to become the producer for BlueNC Radio, I'm open to ideas. Here's the archive.

Big BlueNC stories
In 2010, public concern about Art Pope moved from BlueNC to the world writ large, thanks in large part to the Institute for Southern Studies. As we move toward 2012, Mr. Pope will continue to be a dangerous threat to democracy in North Carolina. Having orchestrated Republican control of the General Assembly, he'll turn his attention to the judiciary.

The other big story on the BlueNC front is the nearly certain demise of the U.S. Navy's plan to build an Outlying Landing Field on top of family farms in northeastern North Carolina. During our first few years of operations, BlueNC played an important role in spreading the alarm. It looks like that sucker is finally dead. Too bad Senator Burr had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the table after six years of doing nothing on the issue.

Personal
It's my belief that secrecy is toxic. In life, in politics, and in business. A few years ago, I took that belief to heart and decided to live most of my life in a web-based fishbowl, providing as much transparency to my agenda and actions as I can possibly tolerate - and then some. Occasionally it feels like exhibitionism, but mostly it feels like accountability.

In addition to blogging and holding down my day job as a freelance writer, I'm going to spend much of 2011 finishing a new novel. If all goes well, it will be published before the 2012 NC election cycle kicks in.

My wife announced last month that she is going on phased retirement from UNC. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but when I asked her what she'd do with all the extra time, she said she's planning to get involved in fundraising. A word of advice, if Jane invites you to lunch, bring your checkbook.

My son and his new wife have moved to Chapel Hill, where he was fortunate to land a job as a social worker in Durham. My daughter just finished a year at the Culinary Institute of America. After having a fantastic externship, she has decided she'd rather work than go to school.

I guess that's it for now. See you tomorrow.