How Can We Make Ourselves Columbia's Coffee House?

First, I'm a lot more excited about this shells project now. The idea of an organically growing "uncalendar" really appeals to me. Maybe "information hub" is a better name for
what we're trying to create than shells. At least, that's what appeals to me about this project — the chance to create something that buzzes. We add information in different formats, organize the structure and then allow the community to add what they know/interact with the information.

That same idea has been driving my work this week. It's been a thrill. The district announced the formation of another community advisory committee on Tuesday, and we broke the story on our blog. Even better, the breaking news box on the Missourian's webpage linked to our blog as the source of information which was intense. Because people kept coming to the blog, there was this huge drive to provide more and new information as quickly as possible, as well as using links to provide context for the story.

We got over five times the amount of hits that day. The coolest part though, was that yesterday our traffic was twice as high as it has been all this semester. People came back.

Other beat reporters have begun posting, both on their required days and independently as news occurs. So far, their commentary posts have been thoughtful and directed to the reader. The internet is changing the way we cover news; I think projects like this illustrate how the internet is making news coverage better by becoming reader-directed.

Progress Report:
I had one article in the paper this week,and more blog posts than I can count on one hand. I've had a meeting or interview nearly every day. I wish I had more to show for those, but alone, they haven't merited articles. It's a classic example of what Liz calls The Cow. There's a huge cow here, the district's finances, and I have to find the steaks and then tease them into articles.

The angles emerging from all those meetings are: 1. How much do people want to teach in the district and what effect does the current system of benefits and salary have on that, 2. Who will actually be paying this tax levy (property owners), and who won't (government-owned property)?

I've also been emailing the major players in current district issues to ask them to send us a heads up about meetings or events so that we can put up notices on the blog as soon as possible. Hopefully those updates will make it more of a one-stop noticeboard/conversation nexus.