[Campaigns-l] Fwd: Wiki the Vote (and stuff for your blog/diary)

[Chad Lupkes]

Another wiki looking for help tracking the US elections today.  Everyone is
working towards the same goal, which is participatory politics.  I've
contacted Conor, and we'll figure out how to work together after this
election.

Chad

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Conor Kenny <conor at sourcewatch.org>
Date: Nov 6, 2006 2:53 PM
Subject: Wiki the Vote (and stuff for your blog/diary)
To: Conor Kenny <conor at sourcewatch.org>


 Hello, I'm Conor Kenny, the editor of
Congresspedia.org<http://congresspedia.org/>.
I'm writing because we're going to "wiki the vote" this week and we'd like
to get your help and also show you how we can promote and facilitate your
own writing.


If this is the first you've heard from me, we found your email by combing
the Internet for citizens that write about national politics on their blog,
website or a place like DailyKos or RedState. Congresspedia is a great place
to both find information and put up your own research on Congress, but we
also see fostering citizen journalism on other sites as a large part of what
we and our friends at the Sunlight Foundation are trying to do. To that end,
here's all the info you need on the "wiki the vote" effort as well as some
of the various ways we can help you with free tools, promotion and guidance.


*First the election stuff:* Congresspedia, the wiki-based "citizens'
encyclopedia on Congress," has seen a huge influx of visitors (on the order
of 60,000-80,000 a day) trying to find information on the election. To serve
that need we've decided to "wiki the vote": state-by-state listings of all
the people running for seats in Congress this year and profiles of the
challengers with a decent shot at winning (we're up to about 100) to
compliment those we have on each member of Congress. We'd like to get you
involved in helping us document the winners of the races as they come in as
well as helping us flesh out the profiles and create new ones for the
challengers we haven't gotten to, yet. All the information you need is
here: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Election_2006


*The free (as in speech) promotion stuff:* Each profile on a member of
Congress or 2006 challenger has a section on "local blogs or discussion
sites" that should include your blog or diary if you post about that person
fairly often. While Congresspedia sticks to documenting facts in
non-partisan language, opinion and rhetoric are important parts of the
political process. So, whatever your politics are, add your blog to the list
(if it isn't already). I can do it for you if you email me with the
information or, preferably, you can just take advantage of the wiki platform
Congresspedia is built on and add it yourself. The homepage is the best
place to start: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Congresspedia


*The free (as in beer) stuff: *The Sunlight Foundation, which co-operates
Congresspedia along with the Center for Media and Democracy, specializes in
using information technology to change the relationship between citizens and
government. Fostering citizen journalism is a big part of that effort and to
that end they have developed several useful tools (all free and open source)
for your use. The affiliated Sunlight Network, which organizes for greater
transparency in government, also has several programs that may be of
interest. Follow the links:
* Sunlight Labs ( http://www.sunlightlabs.org/ ): Free web-based tools,
including the popular "Popup Politicians" and "Earmark Map," which mashes up
Google Maps with congressional appropriations.
* Sunlight Foundation ( http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/ ): Original
muckraking by professional and citizen journalists. References and guides
for online journalism. Free PR services for citizen journalists with scoops.
* Sunlight Network ( http://www.sunlightnetwork.com/ ): Advocates for
greater transparency in government. Currently offering a $1,000 "Punch
Clock" bounty for getting members of Congress to agree to post their daily
schedules online and  $5,000 prize for the best user-submitted video
theorizing how members of Congress spend their day.


If you have any questions or comments, please email me back (this is my real
address). You can also reply if you'd like to be removed from this list.


best,
Conor Kenny

 ________________________________________________________________ Conor
Kenny | Editor, Congresspedia.org <http://www.congresspedia.org/> | Center
for Media and Democracy
202-742-1520 x223 | ckenny at congresspedia.org

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