Interactive Environmental Journalism

Wired News tries wiki experiment

[From SPJ PressNotes] "Wired News has launched an experiment with wikis, the technology that allows anybody to edit and contribute to an online text. The tech-focused magazine has posted an article about the wiki phenomenon in wiki format, to be scrutinized and modified by readers. If all turns out well, the collaborative article will be published in the Sept. 7 print version of the weekly.

"In the past, wikis have not worked so well with traditional publications. The Los Angeles Times attempted a "Wikitorial," an editorial that anyone could edit. The fledgling project quickly turned to disaster as the article was spammed with pornography. It cost Michael Kinsley, the man with the idea, his job at the paper.

"Another paper in South Dakota began a wikitorial feature of its own, but opted for the safer route of reviewing reader edits before posting them.

"On the other hand, a similar experiment to that of Wired, done by Joi Ito of Six Apart, worked well. Ito, asked to write an op-ed for the New York Times, posted his first draft on a social editing website, where friends made suggestions before Ito sent it on to the Times."

Source: Frank Barnako's Media Blog via Editor's Weblog via SPJ Pressnotes

posted by donica @ 9:29 PM