The only war is the war you fought in. Every veteran knows that.– Allan Keller
To set my blog apart from the pack, I would do the following:
- Add social networking and message boards.
- Do more original content, such as audio interviews with prominent Illinois officials (Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn; Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth) and returning veterans.
- Hire bloggers to cover topics such as women’s issues, veterans on campus, religion, legal concerns and family readjustments.
- Have e-mail “action alerts” on state legislation, similar to the ones on the IAVA Web site.
- Add a creative component where veterans and others can share artwork, music, films, drama and writing they’ve done. (This will likely entail lots of embedded videos.)
I would measure the success of this blog largely by public service: Are veterans getting information and help they wouldn’t otherwise get, and can they get Illinois to keep its promises and set an example for other states to follow?
