L.A. Times’s Experimental Journalism
Chris Anderson at The Long Tail has an interesting entry on why the L.A. Times’s bloggish experiment with participatory journalism went so wrong. For those not following the story, Michael Kinsley (the founding editor of Slate, now the L.A. Times’s opinions editor) tried to create a kind of “wikitorial” on the L.A. Times’s web site. Internet trolls abused the concept by posting porn. But even before the wikitorials were trolled, they had forked.
“Forking” is an Internet term of trade, borrowed from software development, used to describe a schism where dissenting groups simply go their own way. Wiki forks, like software forks, can be extraordinarily bitter. Something of the sort immediately occurred on the L.A. Times’s web site. Anderson suggests that Mike Kinsley had not solved the architecture of participation for a wikitorial. Well, maybe. Perhaps. But perhaps Wikitorials are simply a dumb idea.
Editorial opinion is opinion - the more lucid, original, and trenchant, the better. Collaborative journalism cannot but dilute that effect. Which is not to say that readerly participation does not have its place on the op-ed page - it does. But in the form of letters, fora, commentary.
Deep Dive
Uncategorized

It will soon be easy for self-driving cars to hide in plain sight. We shouldn’t let them.
If they ever hit our roads for real, other drivers need to know exactly what they are.

Maximize business value with data-driven strategies
Every organization is now collecting data, but few are truly data driven. Here are five ways data can transform your business.

Cryptocurrency fuels new business opportunities
As adoption of digital assets accelerates, companies are investing in innovative products and services.

Where to get abortion pills and how to use them
New US restrictions could turn abortion into do-it-yourself medicine, but there might be legal risks.
Stay connected

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.