[Imc-communication] feedback on new feature: blogwire

[eric]

This is something I must think further about.however, these are my initial 
impressions:
An imc choosing to include blogs of political content that  represent an 
organization or organizations would obviously want to explain that decision 
to its readers in some obvious manner. Since this constitutes the promotion 
of an organization,  it would seem incumbent on the collective to make its 
decision as transparent as possible. Additionally, shouldn't any gains 
encountered by such decision also be made transparent? As to gains, please 
consider such issues as equipment, donations, tech support, reciprocal 
posting or other forms of support.
It would seem that the greater the number of blogs included the more 
probable the opportunity for readers to obtain access to information they 
require. However, like the "other press", this can easily become filler or 
a depository for corporate media. Many blogs are supported by individuals, 
groups or foundations. What is a collective's obligation with regard to 
considering a blog's funding?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "patrick" <patrick at indymedia.org>
To: <imc-communication at lists.indymedia.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 6:58 PM
Subject: [Imc-communication] feedback on new feature: blogwire


> Hi all,
>
> There is a new feature being developed by mir techs for mir sites, and I'm 
> interested in getting some feedback.  Apologies if this is not relevant 
> for imc-communication, but I am interested in perspectives beyond tech.
>
> The new feature is called a 'blogwire', which will use rss to include 
> selected blogs on a newswire, displaying headlines in the same way that 
> the current imc newswires do.
>
> The headline on the imc blogwire could either link directly to the blog's 
> post, or could link to an imc article page, with a paragraph summary and 
> link to the blog post, and a space for users to comment on the blog.  This 
> is in case the blog folks do not want to deal with spam/troll moderation 
> issues.
>
> The blogs would be selected by the local imc editorial collective.  The 
> general idea would be to include local blogs of political content, that 
> represent an organization (as opposed to personal diaries).  But one 
> political issue is whether to include only blogs from groups, or to also 
> include blogs published by one individual (who writes political 
> content/news).  The issue here being the privileging of certain voices.
>
> Another issue is advertising.  If a blog contains banner or google ads, 
> should it be included in the blogwire?
>
> This is a new way of including potentially strong content, but I see it 
> more so as a way to connect groups with each other, and broaden the reach 
> of imc.
>
> Would love to hear any feedback, if you can cc' me that would be great.
>
>
> Thanks,
> Patrick
>
> rss: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(protocol)
>
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