Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Hot New Oversight Databases Go Live | Personal Democracy Forum

Hot New Oversight Databases Go Live | Personal Democracy Forum: "Hot New Oversight Databases Go Live

By Micah L. Sifry, 10/10/2006 - 5:15pm

Want to know exactly how the federal government spends your money, or which contractors get the bulk of government deals, or what percentage of those contracts are bid competitively? Or, would you like to find out how much your Member of Congress is worth, or how many Members own stock in specific companies? Feel like checking out who's taken the most trips sponsored by private groups?

Three new databases, one built by OMB Watch and two built by the Center for Responsive Politics, have just gone live, and judging by the intense press interest in the launch, I think there's going to be a lot of new and interesting stories appearing soon. (Full disclosure: I am a consultant to the Sunlight Foundation, which funded these new databases, and helped with this launch.)"

Wikipedia co-founder plans 'expert' rival | CNET News.com

Wikipedia co-founder plans 'expert' rival | CNET News.com: "Wikipedia co-founder plans 'expert' rival
By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: October 16, 2006, 6:45 PM PDT
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One of Wikipedia's founders and closest critics is launching an alternative to the free online encyclopedia this week.

Larry Sanger, a co-founder of Wikipedia and the site's former editor-in-chief, is launching a rival site called Citizendium. It will include user registration and editorial controls to govern user-submitted articles, unlike the free-for-all submission process that reigns on Wikipedia. With 'gentle' controls in place, Sanger said Citizendium will naturally weed out so-called trolls from posting obscenities or biased information.

'Wikipedia is amazing. It has grown in breadth and depth, and the articles are remarkably good given the system that is in place. I merely think that we can do better,' Sanger said. 'There are a number of problems with the system that can be solved, and by solving those we can end up with an even better massive encyclopedia.'"

Online charities and Web 2.0 - interview with Dean Russell | Internet Marketing News and Blog | E-consultancy.com

Online charities and Web 2.0 - interview with Dean Russell | Internet Marketing News and Blog | E-consultancy.com: "Online charities and Web 2.0 - interview with Dean Russell

In summer 2006 E-consultancy published a report called Online Charity Benchmarks, which was compiled by iConcertina, a London-based new media agency with a focus on the charity sector.

We talked to iConcertina's Dean Russell to further investigate the study and the drivers behind it...

1. Why wasn't accessibility the focus of the report?"
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