Check Out: Survey on Collaborative News Sites

Dan Gillmor -- Berkman fellow and Dir. of Center for Citizen Media -- posts on his blog about a survey on collaborative news and information sites conducted by Hsing Wei:

Why are collaborative news, commenting and blogging sites such as Newsvine, Slashdot and Global Voices attracting users and visitors? Who are these folks? What do they want from their interactions? According to a just-released survey — “The Hype vs. Reality vs. What People Value: Emerging Collaborative News Models and the Future of News”— by Hsing Wei from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, they are (among many, many other things):

* mostly young and male, especially those who visit technology-related sites.
* very active in their use of the sites.
* looking for “a fix of unique, informative fun.”
* and “filling in the blanks” left by traditional news sources.
* sharing what they know.
* looking for and finding multiple perspectives.

If you'd like to read the full survey, go here. For Gillmor's take, go here.