Official launch of WaPo's political wiki WhoRunsGov.com

Posted by Liz Webber on September 10, 2009 at 2:39 PM

WhoRunsGov.com, a Washington Post-run site that tracks D.C. politicians, emerged from beta this week with two new platforms for user-generated content. The site is billed as a "moderated wiki," with 700 profiles of US lawmakers, members of Obama's administration and other government officials.

The site first launched in January. Since the public launch, users can create new profiles or modify existing content, although WhoRunsGov.com staff will monitor their contributions. Profiles are a bit of a mash-up between a Wikipedia entry and a Facebook page, with photos and YouTube videos as well as links to the profiles of "key associates" and related news stories. Much like Wikipedia, the content is backed up by links to outside sources, most of which are not WaPo news stories.

There are two new projects that specifically draw on user contributions. The first, Reform Tracker, seeks to define every Senator and Congressperson's position on healthcare. Who Runs Gov 2.0 gathers information on the people who are mapping out the government's technology policy.

Other features on the WhoRunsGov.com draw it back to the world of news, including the Plum Line blog written by veteran political blogger Greg Sargent and a look at who is making headlines each day.

Several news organizations have called upon readers for help with specific projects in recent months, from the Guardian's examination of MP's expenses to The New York Times' look at former New York Federal Reserve Bank president Timothy Geithner's schedules to the Associated Press's crowdsourcing of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings.

WhoRunsGov.com is clearly a much more mammoth undertaking. The site is an obvious resource both for journalists looking for background information and the general public searching to learn more about the inner workings of Washington.

Source: Journalism.co.uk