33 Wikis: #9 -- DKOSOPEDIA -- SCHOOL FOR PROGRESSIVES?

This is the ninth installment in "33 Wikis," a close look at best practices in wiki-based collaboration.  Each day -- for 33 days -- we look at one wiki and briefly describe what the wiki is for, why we like it, and what we all can learn from it.  If you want to nominate a wiki, please let us know.  On day 34 we will post a public wiki featuring info on all nominees.

What this wiki is for:  a wiki project by DailyKos, the most popular political blog in the world, dKosopedia describes itself as a "collaborative project of the DailyKos community to build a political encyclopedia. The dKosopedia is written from a left/progressive/liberal/Democratic point of view while also attempting to fairly acknowledge the other side's take. It was started in April of 2004, and currently consists of 5,494 articles."

Why we like it:  Of all the political wikis we've visited, dKosopedia seems to have the greatest potential as a vehicle for bridging the camps that comprise the general progressive agenda.  The wiki was born in the midst of widespread soul-searching in the Democratic party, many of whose leaders had begun to marvel over the Republican Party's ability to consistently stay on message.  dKosopedia's architecture reveals an acute sensitivity to this issue, providing resources such as "frameshop" (nod to George Lakoff's now famous attempts to educate progressives to connect better with voters), a political "glossary," and a "meme tank" (instructing participants on ways to create better, persistent ideas and themes for discussion on the Internet).

What we all can learn from it:  Politics aside, dKosopedia represents an interesting case study for any organization struggling to define itself and get consensus on mission, ideology, and direction.  By taking both a bottoms up and top-down approach, this type of wiki may in fact help to create an emergent organization -- an organization where none truly existed before.  Whether this works for the broad groups of people who identify themselves as progressive is another question.  And as many a critic of Lakoff has said, it will take a lot more than PR lessons to win the hearts and minds of voters.  Still, from our perspective, this wiki project is one worth watching as we move toward the next presidential election.