Idea Lab

At Gotham Gazette, we're gathering our bearings and preparing work on a pretty great crowdsourcing project (though this business of talking something up before its even in beta testing does make the developer in me nervous) and I'm increasingly interested in really understanding what makes crowdsourcing work. It is everywhere these days, and it certainly is one way that we can be turning the Internet into a really effective reporting tool.

Two new projects I'm watching?

Adopt-a-Stimulus -- which I first caught wind of on Twitter -- asks individuals to pick one TARP project and track it. Steve Katz tried and hit a few walls, but it sounds like the folks at ProPublica are committed to staying on the project and working out the kinks.

Cranes on Pause -- WNYC is asking listeners to map stalled construction projects. This one is one that Gotham Gazette has been brainstorming for a while, too long, I guess. I'm glad someone else had the same idea and the wherewithal to get it online! There are rumors that many, many developments are bankrupt or near bankrupt or were banking on fast-rising real estate prices that are decidedly not rising any more, but there hasn't yet been any clear reporting on whether the rumors are all just rumors. Cranes on Pause is a great first step towards a much clearer picture of what is happening to the city's building boom.