Water Blogging

So this is new: a government organization blogging.  

 As an intern, I’m nervous to be the first to post on this blog for the Water Conservation Office of Athens-Clarke County (GA).  As a college student, I’m in awe that I’m about to be writing on behalf of a part of our government.  Guess this girl is growing up.

It’s amazing to think that technology has come far enough that I can follow the DOA, DOI, the White House, and NPR on Twitter, that I can have national parks respond to my thoughts, ideas, and concerns.  I feel so important…but so is everyone else.  There’s something fascinating, and unendingly confusing, about how instant our communication has become.  Twitter has exploded over the last several years, with followers and with news: it is a constant bombardment of news flashes, trending topics, sneak peeks, and conversations.  The bombardment can be so quick it will make your head spin, but once you get your sea-legs…it’s kind of invigorating.  Blogs are no different.  Pinterest has really expanded the platform bloggers have through which they reach readers. 
But how do we fit in all this?  How does a government agency belong in this new instant world? Do we belong?

The answer is a resounding and unequivocal yes.

We must belong.
If we cannot find our own way to flow into this new technological age...where does that leave us?  Washed up on the shores of old things: floppy disks, 8tracks, phone books, and VHS.  

"But how, you're a government institution, it's not like you just go away..." True.  But.  Do you know what we do? Do you know why we do what we do? Do you know who we are, or why we matter?  Chances are, probably not.  The general reader probably has a basic idea...maybe gathered from our "About me" tab...but that only scratches the surface: a tip of the iceberg sort of thing.

So here's a glimpse at the rest of the iceberg: we're passionate about water.  Everything about it.  How much there is, how clean it is, how it gets to you, how we get it back from you, how we take care of it, how our rivers are doing, how much we are using, and how we can build a better community through water education.  Turns out, a blog is the perfect place for us to share these things with you, for you to learn with us, to experience water the way we do.

Maybe the technological age isn't so bad!  The advances in "social media" have really accomplished a lot: they've made it so easy for us to be "social" with everyone else.  Now you can see how we think, why we do what we do, what we know, how we react to water-disasters...the list goes on.  Now you can comment on our posts, have your voice heard, have an instant conversation with a governmental organization that used to be "just" a building downtown.

Even if all this social media is confusing and in-your-face, it truly gives us a unique opportunity to become instantly accessible to anyone.  And everyone.  To you.

-Annaliese Ashley, Intern