Not long ago, I asked you for your thoughts on why elected officials should blog, and what they should do on their blogs. Great responses–they made up a big part of what I said.

In my presentation last week, I strongly urged elected officials to become part of the “read-write” web. Here’s why:

10. 60 million voters get some or all of their campaign news from the Internet. Unless your last name is Gates, you probably can’t afford to communicate with them any other way.

To put this in perspective, I won my first race by 339 votes.

9. This may be the last time in your life that you can be called “cutting edge.”

Even a person with my limited tech skills can blog.

8. Even your kids and their friends might occasionally read your blog. Look, a blog post isn’t the same as a Mother’s Day card, but you take what you can get.

Also, blogging is a great way to reach out to younger voters.

7. There are people who really care about why you introduced that bill on the state fruit. Okay, there are 11 of them. But they will read your blog.

6. On the Internet, no one will know if you laugh at your own jokes.

5. Blogs help constituents see you as a real person. Of course, for some elected officials, that might not be such a good idea.

I never knew there were so many other Tar Heel fans in Virginia!

4. Indiana state senator Lewis Wallace wrote Ben Hur. So don’t tell me you don’t have time for a two-paragraph post.

Yeah, blogging takes time. But it’s worth it.

3. A lot of your readers are smarter than you. Which you will find out when you misspell the name of the Secretary of Agriculture.

Readers of blogs are smart people. Electeds could get way better at their jobs if they listened to them.

2. If Matt Drudge can do it, how hard can it be?

Bob and I, the Bloggers on Walkers, are Exhibit A in this regard.

And the number one reason elected officials should blog —

1. Like The Washington Post is going to call you every day.

Most of us got into public service because we care about issues. But with 140 members of the General Assembly, we are not necessarily first on the reporters’ call sheets. Blogging gives us a way into policy debates.