All,
First, just a bit of news. As of this afternoon we've got free hosting, a
server of our own, and our guys have already started configuring it and
installing stuff. Citizendium-L membership is up to 327 (and feel free to
use the list please!). Applications are rolling in very nicely now--a dozen
plausible new editor possibilities in the last 24 hours, in addition to
around eight we already asked to be editor a few weeks ago. I haven't
replied to many applications yet (including some from last month :-( ).
I'll have to start that tomorrow, I hope. We were just Slashdotted again.
But we really haven't even started a recruitment drive or done a press
release. So this is all basically without even *trying*. So I'm more
optimistic than ever, actually.
I've got a very able Chief Constable started, as well as a kick-ass group of
technical leads with whom I've been working closely in the last few days.
So, next, I'd like to get a group of people brainstorming and at work (in an
semi-organized way) on getting the word out about the Citizendium project.
Can I persuade you to help with that?
There are three main things I'd like to do:
(1) Post a call for participation to a whole bunch of mailing lists,
particularly academic-oriented mailing lists. This further entails that:
(a) We construct a big list of lists.
(b) We keep track of whether a list received the CFP yet.
I recommend we use the planning wiki for these purposes. (1)(a) is
something Zachary Pruckowski has made some progress on, but I can tell you
from experience--since this is how Nupedia, Wikipedia, and some other Web
projects got started--that he's going to need a lot of help.
(2) Similarly, ask for blog posts from some well-read academic blogs; so (a)
make a list of such blogs, and (b) keep track of whether the blogger's been
asked yet. Again, on the planning wiki.
(3) I'm strongly inclined to get started doing what I described on the
forums (see http://textop.org/smf/index.php?topic=128): we could make a
standing offer, published in a press release, posted on a page on the
website, pursued by whatever means we have at our disposal, to any of a list
of major academic/professional organizations in the English-speaking world.
We would like to offer them representation on CZ editorial workgroups; in
exchange, they offer us publicity among their members, and at least a weak
sort of endorsement. (We might, in fact, best regard this as a goal.)
These organizations have a strong professional interest in, indeed a mission
to, ensure that publicly-available information about their fields remains
accurate. We provide them with what might well be (regardless of what they
do or don't do, frankly) a powerful platform to ensure that accurate
information is disseminated. Their membership can speak to the CZ through
their representative on the workgroup.
To do this, we would have to do the following:
(a) First, do some brainstorming and strategizing about how to
pursue this *sort* of idea. The following is off the top of my head.
(b) Get quite clear on the policy regarding how organizations are
represented in editorial workgroups, and how the relationships are actually
made official.
(c) Create a list of organizations, contact info, etc.
(d) Actually draft a letter to send to various professional
organizations.
(e) Decide who sends it, how, etc., and actually send the letters.
The last one (3) is somewhat pressing, because I had an interview with the
Chronicle of Higher Education today, which I think went very well. They've
agreed to do a separate story about CZ to appear next Friday. Information
in a press release to appear at the same time will reach on the order of
thousands of college professors and administrators. Therefore, I want to
put something in that press release to the effect that we want to develop
the above-described relationships with professional & academic
organizations.
(4) Other ideas? David Marshall is going to work his own personal contacts
or so he keeps threatening to do.
Anyway, this brings us to the idea of a recruitment workgroup.
I can't do (1)-(4) myself. I probably can't even do all the hard thinking
that needs to go into the effort; the Citizendium is a big project with many
facets. So I need a group of people to think systematically about how to do
all this efficiently, and then do it that way.
Sooo...and bear in mind that this is probably just as important as the pilot
project, at this point...I am asking *you* to help in a recruitment
workgroup. Please let me know. No CVs necessary this time but do send your
mail (perhaps titled "Recruitment workgroup") to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Also, let me know if you are interested in *leading* this group, because I'm
pretty sure it will need some proactive leadership that I personally will
not always be able to provide. We've already got David and Zach involved,
and they are both very smart and motivated, but they and I need much more
help.
--Larry
_______________________________________________
Citizendium-l mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/citizendium-l
