DailySource.org picks the news
In a model dramatically different from all of the aggregators online these days, a new site called DailySource.org has a team of human (yes, you read that right, human) editors scanning the web and picking the "top news from around the net."
Tom Regan, a senior editor for the site, tells CyberJournalist.net in an email:
The best way to describe it is Google News with human editors and higher ideals.The site is the brainchild of a young fella named Peter Dunn. Basically there are four or five of us who are paid to go online and find the best news stories from around the world and put them up on the site...in all kinds of topics -- health, sports, environment, religion, entertainment, the best of columns and blogs etc..
Meanwhile, Peter has put together a large team of volunteer editors and proofreaders to help the paid staff (actually it's absolutely amazing the number of people Peter has convinced to help on the site). So after I'm finished doing a shift putting up photos and stories (we buy photos from AP) or sometimes even during my shift, a proofreader will come on and give me feedback. Pretty cool actually.
The other thing I really like about the site is that it encourages readers to send stories into the editors via a link on the homepage. So there's lots of interaction with the people who are looking at the site. And you can personalize it. You can e-mail the stories to people you think should read them. They're working on a cool chat function. All that and a bag of chips, 24 x 7.
All the back engine stuff has been put together by Peter and his developer. It's pretty unique.
Oh yeah, there's no advertising. Peter has some backers, some of the funding is via donations, or through deals with sites like like Amazon.com where if you buy through the site you earn a percentage back.
To read why the site believes its articles are of higher quality than any other site on the Internet, click here.
To see the criteria the site uses to choose articles for DailySource.org, click here.
Dec 18, 2006 | E-MAIL | SAVE | PRINT | PERMALINK | DISCUSS(3)
Discussion
3 comments about 'DailySource.org picks the news'Never trust machines!
Posted by Mohsen Borji at December 19, 2006 3:54 AM
Human-aggregated content is a novel idea in our current world of meta tags and key words, and one worth considering. News can be better summarized around an issue, research question or esoteric niche. I work for a news site that is another human-powered news aggregator, Headwaters News, and am a strong proponent.
Our site (www.headwatersnews.org) covers the Rocky Mountain region and focuses on the real issues affecting us: the environment, politics, growth, energy development, the recreation industry, public land management. To try and find the relevant stories that cover these areas in one place, or under one search term, one RSS feed, one news tracker, and without the mind-boggling array of junk that also comes with it is impossible. We make that happen.
Like DailySource.org, we are nonprofit and are associated with the University of Montana. Funding is challenging, but we think worth the effort. Kudos to all who are putting forth the effort to employ the best aspects of the web: accessibility to information that can be readily shared and organized by the human machine!
Posted by Daniel Berger at December 19, 2006 1:47 PM
Newsvine.com does this too, and allows its users to have their own columns for submitting original content, as well as discussion threads on every news item, and there are Groups which have their own column of member-submitted content, and an in-house chat program, and ad revenue-sharing (90% goes to the users).
Posted by Aine at December 19, 2006 2:41 PM
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