Jay Rosen on What I Learned from Assignment Zero

News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:36 PM EDT

Article Source: Press Think

technology

Seeded by Scott (Scoop) Butki

One of the main players behind Assignment Zero explains where things went awry

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Scott (Scoop) Butki's Column, All of Newsvine
Groups: Mediavine, MSM Incinerator, Newsvine Community
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4.7

{"commentId":1137816,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

The numbers and facts approach says: ask each participant for a simple and clearly-stated "bit" of information. Then combine lots of bits—hundreds at first, thousands eventually—into a report that reveals something new. For how it looks in practice, see the Brian Lehrer Show's Crowdsourcing Project: Are You Being Gouged? It maps grocery prices using commodity items (a six pack of Bud) to see where neighborhood differences may show up. Lehrer uses his midday radio program on WNYC to recruit partcipants and air the results.

I think both criticisms—geeky and self-referential story! simplify it for people if you want to succeed!—have a lot going for them. I accept their counsel.

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1 vote

#1 - Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:39 PM EDT

{"commentId":1137950,"authorDomain":"DrKnow"}

Dr Know

I followed the link, there was no clear statement of exactly what Assignment Zero was. It makes me wonder how you can attribute learning anything from such an assignment.

{"commentId":1137950,"threadId":"168446","contentId":"1056745","authorDomain":"DrKnow"}

1 vote

#2 - Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:40 AM EDT

{"commentId":1138544,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

Dr. Know, here is an earlier seed re: assignment zero. It was a big deal here but it was before your time. That seed might answer some of your questions.

The problem, from a Newsvine perspective, was people came in and said they wanted our help, we got suitably excited then we were asked to go to a different site to get organized and do work and I think my reaction matched others in that we started asking questions: why go elsewhere when we're organized here? And what are the plans for this in the long run? And.. and... it was not very organized and things didn't go too well, from my perspective.

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1 vote

#2.1 - Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:53 AM EDT

{"commentId":1138823,"authorDomain":"DrKnow"}

Dr Know

At my advanced age, it is novel to find something that was 'before my time". After all, I went to grade school when God did, he was a couple of grades behind me. I learned to read and write from stone tablets!

{"commentId":1138823,"threadId":"168446","contentId":"1056745","authorDomain":"DrKnow"}

2 votes

#2.2 - Mon Oct 29, 2007 11:34 AM EDT

{"commentId":1138884,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

How were his grades?

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1 vote

#2.3 - Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:06 PM EDT

{"commentId":1138108,"authorDomain":"farmer"}

oldfogey

Dr Know, quite a few people learned quite a lot from the Assignment Zero experience. The main point was that MSM and academia are not yet sophisticated enough to accept that CJs may be the future of journalism.

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1 vote

#3 - Mon Oct 29, 2007 5:15 AM EDT

{"commentId":1138552,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

What did you learn from the experience, oldfogey?

{"commentId":1138552,"threadId":"168446","contentId":"1056745","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

#3.1 - Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:56 AM EDT

{"commentId":1139744,"authorDomain":"farmer"}

oldfogey

I learned that jumping in and helping some people can be very disappointing when the wanter doesn't want real help. The organizational people who originally began AssignmentZero (with notable exceptions) didn't seem to want the process to work. They kept throwing their own egos in as monkey wrenches to staunch the flow of activity. Part of this was technical problems, part design problems and a whole lot of personalities that didn't work well with others.

I learned that if CJs had designed and operated AZ it probably would not have worked either because it depended too much on joint endeavors and did not allow for the exceptional individual or sole operator. The internet is not conducive to joint endeavors at this time. Maybe someday.

I learned that most of us can write better material on our own than we could using the structures developed for AZ. I learned that some MSM people resented or pooh-poohed Citizen Journalism while mouthing their intent to become a part of it. Look up Mary Lou Fulton some time. Not the one with all the money but the one who heads up a small online-print publication out in California. Read what she says about citizen journalism and how she has put it to use for her publication. Then ask me to email her comments from an email interview. See what kind of CJ posting is really going on at her site.

I learned that Newsvine was so far ahead of most MSM efforts on line that it is gruesome. They don't have a clue. Or didn't at the time of AZ.

I learned a lot more but you really don't want to hear it sbutki. This is a sore issue with me as I was ready to pour much of my material into AZ and I feel they turned away. I did spend considerable time in the early weeks and found they couldn't even keep track of the material I posted.

{"commentId":1139744,"threadId":"168446","contentId":"1056745","authorDomain":"farmer"}

2 votes

#4 - Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:28 PM EDT

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SCOTT (SCOOP) BUTKI

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Jay Rosen on What I Learned from Assignment Zero

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