Daily Web

Don’t you find that more and more, you simply want to know more and more? This week’s Blog is all about communication. I hope that you bookmark my web page, or sign up on Facebook, or for my daily Tweet!

I get kidded everywhere I go, because I’m always pulling out my (yellow) camera and having someone snap a shot at each event. The next morning, all the previous day’s photos are posted at http://www.cityofnorthbay.ca/cityhall/otm/. I like this open and transparent way of doing business – everyone can see exactly what their Mayor is up to!

On the Mayor’s page you will also find a series of links. One of the most called up is the 2020 Vision. Remember that from both of my campaigns? If you haven’t seen a copy, or want to remember the campaign promises, call it up and compare it to what’s actually been accomplished. In addition, you will find all of my major speeches posted there. The site is a great tool for school kids of all ages, as it serves as a great resource for their essay writing and other projects.

There are many other links that you can get to once you’re on the site, and I encourage you to surf through some of them one day. It gets updated daily, and overhauled frequently, so keep checking back!

Facebook

Social networking is more than just something the kids are on – it’s an extremely valuable tool for communicating City business. I have a Facebook account and am extremely pleased with how it’s been working. Let me tell you about it.

I thought long and hard about the pros and cons of opening up on Facebook. In the end, I felt that a real open and transparent government means being available in as many ways as possible. I now have almost 700 people signed up on Facebook and I use it exclusively as a tool for 2-way communication. The photo above is from the chapter where Councillor Dave Mendicino and I explained our new Sports Complex.

Another recent example was when I was looking for input into the Buy American battle that I was waging with U.S. mayors. My Facebook friends gave me great ammo in the form of research they came across. Another was when I posed the question: “what should the Hospital folks do with their two soon-to-be-vacant’ buildings? I really enjoy hearing from people around the world with their input into making North Bay a better place.

Facebook was a great tool to get input from around the world regarding a local objective. If you’d like to see what it’s all about, go to http://www.facebook.com and search: Victor Fedeli.

Twitter

If you REALLY want to know things the instant they happen, then you sound like a candidate for Twitter. It’s still a relatively new social networking site, and I’m having a lot of fun Tweeting my every day events.

My Twitter account is at http://twitter.com/victorfedeli. Every morning I post a little tidbit you may not have heard about … North Bay declared one of the top 20 Most Generous Cities in Canada; Christian Radio Shareathon is on today … that kind of thing. There are 125 people signed up to receive the morning message, and the subscriber list keeps growing.

Social media is here to stay. It can be an extremely valuable tool for people like me who like to constantly communicate and I encourage you to sign up as a Friend on Facebook or to receive my daily Tweet. Even typing that phrase sounds funny to me, but I guess we’ll all have to get used to these new expressions.

I really enjoy writing this weekly Blog (another funny expression). If you have story ideas or if there are areas of the city you’d like to know more about, please e-mail me and I will be happy to accommodate you. Have another great week!