From WhoRunsGov Editor Rachel Van Dongen When we first started WRG back when President Obama was inaugurated, our aim was to give readers a sense of who was running Washington. But as time went on, we also realized we wanted readers to understand more about how Washington works. We also think our web site shouldRead… Read more »
When Whorunsgov.com first launched in January 2009, we had very little partnership help. In the year since our launch, that has changed with brands like Foreign Policy teaming up with us during our Who Runs the War Project, which created thousands of extra page views. Main Justice, Medill Journalism School and Govloop are other partnersRead… Read more »
Since launching the moderated wiki, Whorunsgov has, on a couple of occasions, created projects to entice people to contribute. We try to focus these projects on narrow topics that people have strong opinions about. The projects include: 1) Tracking Blue Dog Democrats’ stances on the proposed health-care bill 2) Highlighting advocates and lobbyists that workRead… Read more »
A significant difference between wikis created now and those created two-to-three years ago is the advent — and proliferation of — social media. Facebook is no longer used only by college kids, and Twitter results now show up on Google searches. What a change! In order to build a community, you must be able toRead… Read more »
A few weeks ago, a member of the Whorunsgov community contributed some valuable information to the profile of Douglas Evans Coe, a leader in “The Fellowship.” This contributor did a great thing by trying to help us all know more about Mr. Coe, and even provided a source. But there was one problem: The sourceRead… Read more »
In last week’s discussion on encouraging the timid contributor, Govloop creator Steve Ressler left a link to the phenomenal — and horrifying — site 90-9-1.com. It explains a common community interaction ratio seen on wikis. The 90-9-1 Principle states that members of a community will interact with the wiki in a defined way. According toRead… Read more »
An email we see daily at Whorunsgov often comes from a reader suggesting an addition or change to a profile. While emails like this often mention valid changes, the reader could have made the change directly in the profile without informing us first. The strange part about these emails; after we suggest the readers makeRead… Read more »
GovLoop is partnering with Washington Post’s WhoRunsGov through then end of Septemberfor a special event: “Who Runs Gov 2.0” Here’s the pitch straight from WhoRunsGov: Political techies are making government more transparent, but they are working largely behind-the-scenes. WhoRunsGov.com wants to change that. From now through the end of September, we need you to helpRead… Read more »