Blogs, Wikis, Flickr, RSS -- the list keeps growing of technology and innovations that help people share their voices and knowledge. In particular, new kinds of collaborative news sites are leveraging these tools. Wikinews, OhmyNews and Digg, among many others, have sparked both enthusiasm and controversy.
I'm a graduate student in the Kennedy School at Harvard, and am looking for users of collaborative news sites. This research project seeks to get a better understanding of why people use -- and how they value -- these collaborative news sites.
TAKE THE SURVEY. It's short and will help this Harvard graduate student with his research project.
The survey, and some of my answers to it are below the fold. Plus a bit more that wouldn't fit up top.
A friend of mine on
digg dugg a story titled
Gillmor Recommends Harvard Survey on Digg and Other Social News Sites.
The only reason I put in the links to digg is so you can check out the new ajax comments that digg rolled out last week, but you might have to sign up to really get the most out of the new comments (just as it is here). If you do sign up, or already are on digg add me as a friend (ccheath) and make a comment, or email me with your digg username.
Note: I have edited the survey slightly to make it appear in a somewhat readable form.
1. Which collaborative news site do you visit?
(Base all subsequent questions/answers off the site you choose. If you visit more than one site, chose the website you visit most frequently.)
You will have to choose "Other" and specify dailykos (if kos is your primary collaborative site).
2. What usually brings you to the website?
Web search result
Outside website link
Online news article link
Check website regularly
Word of mouth
Other (please specify)
3. Do you usually enter through the "homepage"?
4. When you enter the site, which most accurately describes your experience? (Can check more than one)
Read for articles on a specific country or geographic region
Read for articles on a specific issue/topic
Browse around (not seeking specific information)
Read the featured or latest stories
Read for particular members' articles
Other (please specify)
5. What do you primarily use the website for? (Can check more than one)
Primary source of information/news I can't get elsewhere
Supplemental information on news first learned elsewhere
Research tool for professional or academic purpose
Personal interest/ entertainment
Tool for reporting news and information I learn/discover
Tool for connecting to people with similar concerns
Other (please specify)
6. What do you find most valuable about the website? (Rank among these attributes from 1= most valuable to 7 = less valuable. If you do not find the attribute valuable, do not include it in the rank. For example rank from 1 to 5 instead. Please do not give attributes the same rank -- e.g. multiple 2s and 3s.)
Public/Citizen first person perspectives
Outside of mainstream or under-covered information
Summary of what various voices are saying
Aggregation of various voices on one site
Ability to communicate with reporters and editors
A community to facilitate becoming more involved in an issue
Ability to report information I learn/discover
7. How would you rank its information credibility next to mainstream news media?
Less credible
The same
More credible
8. How would you rate each website's interface -- display and organization / ease of finding relevant news? (1=good, 2=fair, 3=poor)
Collaborative News Website
Traditional Newspapers (Online Interface)
News Section of Search Engines (Yahoo, Google)
9. How do you participate on the website?
Read articles
Read comments
Post comments on articles
Flag/Tag/Rate content or users
Write articles/content
Edit articles/content
Read/post/comment on any discussion of site's development
Yes or No for each
10. If you do not participate in writing content or posting comments, what is the reason? (One or two sentence answer)
11. Based on your experience on the website have you...
Joined an online group to learn more or take further action on an issue
Joined an off-line group to learn more or take further action on an issue
Emailed/become online acquaintances with other members of the site
Engaged offline with members you meet on the website
Taken further interest in an issue
Yes or No for each
12. How often do you visit the website?
Daily
Once a week
Once every two weeks
Once a month
Rarely
Other (please specify)
13. What is your age?
0-21
22-34
35-55
55+
14. What is your gender?
15. What is your primary motivation for writing and/or editing articles on the website? (Can check more than one.)
16. What is your predominant sources of information for the articles published?
News aggregators
Individual blogs
Mainstream news
First hand information
Other (please specify)
17. In your opinion, what have been the most significant problems the site/users have experienced? (1-2 sentence answer)
My Answer :: Technological problems are with the user interface, and acomodating (sp?) users with various connection speeds. Socially, dailykos is a political site, so there are problems (aka pie fights) that arise from time to time as you might imagine. Also of note: trolls are not a very big problem.
18. In your opinion, what is the biggest strength of this site over traditional news media? (1-2 sentences)
My Answer :: The colaboration/community, feedback/comments, and indepth analysis are the biggest strenghts. Plus the traditional media is compromised, in my opinion.
