by Denise
Crossposted from the Block by Block 2010 blog

Truth: I’m an impassioned participant on this subject. Andrew Huff and Mary Turck presented on working with volunteer contributors, and it’s the bread and butter of The Rapidian, a civic media site that relies entirely on user-generated content. You might as well have called me Hermione. “Oh, oh!” “Yes, Ms. Granger?” I’ll keep it to a minimum, but here are the takeaways, peppered with my observations.

As user-generated content sites, Andrew and Mary’s publications have really been around the block. Since 2003, about 300 volunteer staffers have walked through Gapers Block‘s doors, and the publication now hovers around 100 volunteer staffers with eight editors at the helm.

Twin Cities Daily Planet is just two years GB’s minor. Its reporter base comprises interns, volunteers, freelancers and professionals, but ultimately, Mary doesn’t grant special privileges based on these distinctions.

Together, Mary and Andrew focused on working with volunteer reporters and untrained writers. The key takeaways from the breakout session can be charted into four broad points.

Read the rest at the Block by Block blog