A Second Speech to the Ziu from a Citizen

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

The Seneschal asked me if I wanted to be the Clerk, and I said that I'd be willing.  That was a week ago, though.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

Very glad to hear you want the job

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Very glad to hear you want the job

I'm also going to apply to become a herald.  It doesn't look like there's going to be any movement on anything that I've been advocating for, but I guess at least I can keep trying to do my part.

It's been a week -- I guess it's not really urgent, but is the Seneschal going to nominate me to be Clerk, or should I nudge the Senior Justice?

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

It's been more than a month since I brought this up again, and five months since I first started trying to draw attention to our problem.  In response, there has been a slight shift in personnel in the Government, I have been appointed Clerk (which obviously is basically irrelevant for years at a time), Ian P has done the sandwich thing for donations again, Francal made an announcement about SIGN, and the other active member of the Government has begun to try to gather information by quizzing some of our potential immigrants.  And while those last three things are great and represent some real effort, it's also really clear that we are not taking this seriously.

   
• Immigration rate is the most important number in the country right now and we're not even bothering to keep track.  That's insane.  It's indefensible -- and I mean that literally, no one has even tried to defend the practice.
• The Zuavs rewards activity with pomp and ceremony.  The whole program is already set up.  But if we don't want to do that, we should do something else.  We have become too small and quiet for activity to crop up organically.
• Government business and party business should be relocated to Witt, as much as possible.  Right now, nearly all of that is invisible, which just feeds the impression that nothing is happening in Talossa.
• Log onto the Kingdom Twitter on Tweetdeck and schedule a bunch of posts based on upcoming holidays (using the wiki page on them) and just general silliness, and use IFTT to automate cross-posting to Facebook and Instagram.  Txec already offered to do this!  Let him do it!
• Start an advertising campaign.  Target some key words like "micronation" or "conlang."

We need to treat this problem with the seriousness it deserves, rather than just chugging along with business-as-usual.  If the people in charge won't adopt my plans, that's fine -- but do something serious and new and bold.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

Okay, I've been trying to ignore the squawking, but it doesn't work. Forgive me for venting.

]Immigration rate is the most important number in the country right now and we're not even bothering to keep track.

What are you talking about? We're keeping track of prospective immigrants. There were 2 last week. Or do you mean something else?

The Zuavs rewards activity with pomp and ceremony.  The whole program is already set up.

Cabinet has discussed this. Initiative now lies with the new Minister of Defence.

Government business and party business should be relocated to Witt, as much as possible.

We're not putting our party conversations on Witt just because you can't handle the idea that we might be talking about you behind your back. Your long campaign to abolish privacy in Talossan politics will fail.

Log onto the Kingdom Twitter on Tweetdeck and schedule a bunch of posts based on upcoming holidays (using the wiki page on them) and just general silliness, and use IFTT to automate cross-posting to Facebook and Instagram.  Txec already offered to do this!  Let him do it!

Txec who? Are you referring to the SoS? The Twitter passwords are now with the Seneschál as the new Minister of Stuff; but if the SoS had ever offered to take over the Twitter himself, this is news to me.

Start an advertising campaign.  Target some key words like "micronation" or "conlang."

Cabinet has discussed this. Finance says we can afford it. Initiative now rests with MinStuff.

We need to treat this problem with the seriousness it deserves,

"You need to treat Glorious Victorious Baron with the seriousness he thinks he deserves". But the Baron hasn't realised that the more he acts like he's the boss of this country - even though no-one voted for him and all the power he has got from sycophancy to the permanently absent-King - the more he's ignored by those with a democratic mandate.

[King Txec]

I may not remember correctly, but I think I said I'd help out with the Twitter, but I'm not a member of the government so I don't think me just doing it myself alone would be appropriate.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

]Immigration rate is the most important number in the country right now and we're not even bothering to keep track.

What are you talking about? We're keeping track of prospective immigrants. There were 2 last week. Or do you mean something else?

How many were there in the last six months of last year?  Is that tracked?  If so, where is that and how can we see it?

The Zuavs rewards activity with pomp and ceremony.  The whole program is already set up.

Cabinet has discussed this. Initiative now lies with the new Minister of Defence.

Great!  Can't wait to see it happen.  It's been five months since I brought this idea up, though, so it would be great to see some movement sooner rather than later.

Government business and party business should be relocated to Witt, as much as possible.

We're not putting our party conversations on Witt just because you can't handle the idea that we might be talking about you behind your back. Your long campaign to abolish privacy in Talossan politics will fail.

...what?  Put it on private boards here!  I'm not saying that the Government or the political party shouldn't be allowed to have private conversations, don't be dense.  But if there's just one forum then that will help get the ball rolling on activity, as people see posts on other boards and maybe get involved.  It's the same principle a lot of organizations use where they try to encourage interaction between people in different departments, since ideas can then spread and advance through casual contact.

Log onto the Kingdom Twitter on Tweetdeck and schedule a bunch of posts based on upcoming holidays (using the wiki page on them) and just general silliness, and use IFTT to automate cross-posting to Facebook and Instagram.  Txec already offered to do this!  Let him do it!

Txec who? Are you referring to the SoS? The Twitter passwords are now with the Seneschál as the new Minister of Stuff; but if the SoS had ever offered to take over the Twitter himself, this is news to me.

Maybe if you weren't trying to ignore this stuff, you would have seen it.  He's offered to help the MinStuff with it here.

As for the tweets, do we know who has the login information for our Twitter account? I spend a lot of time tweeting for my author business so I'm well versed in scheduling and the logistics. I'd be happy to take that on if we can figure out who has current control.

Start an advertising campaign.  Target some key words like "micronation" or "conlang."

Cabinet has discussed this. Finance says we can afford it. Initiative now rests with MinStuff.

Great!  Can't wait to see it.  It's been five months since I brought this idea up, though, so it would be great to see some movement sooner rather than later.

We need to treat this problem with the seriousness it deserves,

"You need to treat Glorious Victorious Baron with the seriousness he thinks he deserves". But the Baron hasn't realised that the more he acts like he's the boss of this country - even though no-one voted for him and all the power he has got from sycophancy to the permanently absent-King - the more he's ignored by those with a democratic mandate.

You can be as spiteful as you want, as long as you do really implement some of these proposals.  I wish you luck with the Zuavs, social media, and advertising.  And I wish you luck with your "semi-retirement."

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

We're not putting our party conversations on Witt just because you can't handle the idea that we might be talking about you behind your back. Your long campaign to abolish privacy in Talossan politics will fail.

...what?  Put it on private boards here!

Well. I'm big enough to admit when I was wrong. I don't remember you ever saying 'private' boards, and I remember your attempt to get access to private Cabinet (and FreeDem) conversations on Facebook, when you were trying to get a CpI Justice of improper collusion. So I put 2 and 2 together. If that was never what you meant, I got it wrong, and I withdraw and apologise.

All I can say is that the current FreeDems public forum (which is only really used for our conventions) has the advantage that we can moderate and administer it ourselves without getting Chancery permission. And I don't see how a private board would enable newbies to see Talossan activity in action. But the idea has its attractions.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

We're not putting our party conversations on Witt just because you can't handle the idea that we might be talking about you behind your back. Your long campaign to abolish privacy in Talossan politics will fail.

...what?  Put it on private boards here!

Well. I'm big enough to admit when I was wrong. I don't remember you ever saying 'private' boards, and I remember your attempt to get access to private Cabinet (and FreeDem) conversations on Facebook, when you were trying to get a CpI Justice of improper collusion. So I put 2 and 2 together.

Yes, I was interested in what the opposing attorney was saying in private to the judge about the case.  I otherwise have very little interest in what's being said on your party forums; I was told by one Free Democrat that 30–40% of the posts on your party Facebook group mention me by name, but I imagine none of it is very kind.  Why would I want to see it?  Let's just move on.

If that was never what you meant, I got it wrong, and I withdraw and apologise.

No worries, misunderstandings happen.

All I can say is that the current FreeDems public forum (which is only really used for our conventions) has the advantage that we can moderate and administer it ourselves without getting Chancery permission. And I don't see how a private board would enable newbies to see Talossan activity in action. But the idea has its attractions.

It would allow them to see boards with an increasing post count from the steady activity, and it would encourage members of the political party and the Government to see stuff on main Witt that they might otherwise have missed.  Please give it some thought.  I used to strongly advocate for many different forums, but we're just too small for that now.

[King Txec]

I now have access to our social accounts. Ideas on posts? 

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

I have some ideas.

Schedule a bunch of posts based on upcoming holidays (using the wiki page on them: http://wiki.talossa.com/Holidays).  That's 31 posts right there.

Tweet the "Seneschal trivia" facts, one a week for a while: http://wiki.talossa.com/Seneschal#Seneschal_Trivia

Grab one or two facts from each of the province pages, too: http://wiki.talossa.com/Realm

If you're feeling really ambitious, then there's a ton of dates on the history page to schedule for the associated anniversary: http://wiki.talossa.com/History   Probably not worth taking the time to calculate how long it's been; just preface each one with "Today in Talossan history:"

A bunch can be quickly written and scheduled, and hashtagged with "#conlang #micronation #talossa".  Whenever it'll fit, that is.   For bonus points, use IFTT to automate cross-posting to Facebook and Instagram.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Just saw the first post from the official Twitter in a very long time! Great job!

[King Txec]

The two posts are also on our Facebook page. I've not set up Instagram yet, but I will. We also have something called TrustPilot but I have no idea what that is really.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Hey folks, we're actually starting to see some response and some activity. We need to seize on this and build it up. Opportunities like this won't come that often again, so we need to grab hold of them while they're here. Miestra, some real talk: you've effectively been the real Seneschal the entire term anyway, could you maybe light a fire under the Government's butt and get some of the stuff that is "before Cabinet" actually happening (or tell us that it's not really going to happen because the minister is ignoring you, so we can figure out something else)? Or give us a timeline/deadlines? Maybe there will be stuff I can help out with or someone else could help out with. It's time for all of us to pull together as one nation!

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Immigration rate is the most important number in the country right now and we're not even bothering to keep track.

This is still true and still a disaster.  How much has the immigration rate dropped over the last few years?  We have no idea.  Why aren't we keeping track of this?

The Zuavs rewards activity with pomp and ceremony.  The whole program is already set up.

Cabinet has discussed this. Initiative now lies with the new Minister of Defence.

It's been a couple of weeks.  Is anything going to happen with this?  Is there anything people can do to help?

Government business and party business should be relocated to Witt, as much as possible.

This would still be a great thing, still.  If moderation is the only reason why this isn't happening, remember that the person in charge of your party would automatically be in charge of moderating the board under the terms of how Witt is run.

Start an advertising campaign.  Target some key words like "micronation" or "conlang."

Cabinet has discussed this. Finance says we can afford it. Initiative now rests with MinStuff.

It's been a couple of weeks.  Is anything going to happen with this?  No appropriation bill has been offered.

Sorry to keep bugging people like this, but I think we're seeing some real results as people wake up to the dire straits we're in.  In just a couple of weeks, we've leaped ahead on things like social media and ID cards thanks to citizen initiative, and we have some new active citizens.  We need to build momentum -- this situation is just what I was hoping for! -- but there's no way to know if anyone official is actually going to do anything.  Is anything happening?

It's time for us all to pull together!  We can do this, if we just keep the new energy going.