About Political Cortex |
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Vision What if there was a place you could go where you were the star of the show -- where the voice of the community shared the front page with the site’s full-time writers? What if you there was a place where you could not only contribute your own views but also help to determine the content produced by the community as a whole? What if this place ran like a Democracy? What if there was a place where higher thought and mutual respect combined with a culture of independent, investigative journalism to present a new paradigm in online netroots media? And what if there was a place that put together a talented group of core bloggers – and then nudged them to the side to make room for the voice of the community within which they gathered? These are the questions we asked ourselves. And this site is our response. We hope Political Cortex can be that place.
Originality The first thought that probably pops into many people’s heads is, “What makes Political Cortex any different form all the rest?” That’s a valid question, and one we considered when putting this site together. That’s why we strove to remove the community from the periphery and placed it center stage on the front page. That’s why we implemented a Blog Democracy via a special community editing and voting process unique to the political blogosphere. That’s why we’ve incorporated new and original features such as Keyword Tags, advanced diary voting, and “Quick Posting”. And that’s why we hope to foster a culture of journalistic Independence that inspires a new generation of bold truth-seekers.
People Although Political Cortex will be driven by the powerful voice of the Cortex community, it will also have the benefit of a remarkably talented group of core writers to set the journalistic standard and provide structure to the Cortex’s otherwise free-form environment. The founders, whose vision has guided the creation of Political Cortex, include:
(Click on the Founders's Name to send them an email)
Features Political Cortex is structured around a community software platform called ‘Scoop’. Although you might have come across some very impressive Scoop sites in the past, you’ve never come across one quite like this. At the Cortex, we make you the star of the show. Sure, we have an extremely talented group of regular writers. But one of the primary goals of the site is to give a much greater voice to the community – to make YOU the star. At the Cortex, you’re not limited to posting comments or creating diaries as you are at most sites. Yes, we have those available to you as well, but then we take it a step further -- offering an entire spectrum of features that allow you to show-off your grand insights, observations, opinions, and analyses. In fact, the entire central column on the front page is dedicated exclusively to community submissions. Blogocracy: Even more innovative is the Democratic nature by which the community’s front-page submissions are decided. In essence, you, the registered members of the Cortex Community VOTE on who you think should be posted to the front page. Yes, you can register. It’s free and it gives you total access to the complete interactive community experience. Rest assured, however, that Voting ‘Yay’ or ‘Nay’ is just the beginning. In brief, here are some of the things you can do as a registered user (Each of these will be explained in detail the FAQ): Submit your Writing: You can submit your personally authored articles to the voting queue and possibly have your work displayed prominently on the front page. Vote on Submissions: You can vote on others’ article submissions. Enroll in Blogosphere Writing 101, 201, and 301 (advanced studies): You can submit your articles and diaries to the ‘editing queue’ where you will receive the invaluable editorial feedback of the community. Yes they will criticize your work, but we cannot stress enough how valuable this process is for both ensuring top-quality writing on the front page AND serving as a training and proving ground for would-be progressive political journalists, writers, and bloggers. This is the place to go if you REALLY want to know what works when it comes to writing for the people. Write Diaries: You can write ‘diaries’. They aren’t really diaries in the ‘dear diary’ sense of the word, they’re more like ‘journals’ in the ‘I keep a journal’ sense. Recommend Other’s Diaries: You can ‘recommend’ others’ diaries and likewise have your diaries ‘recommended’ by others. ‘Recommends’ are another sort of community vote that can potentially ‘raise’ your diaries from the ‘Recent Diaries’ section to the more prominent ‘Recommended’ Diaries listing. Post Comments: You can post comments in any story, diary, or quick post Reply to Comments: You can reply to specific comments and the author of the original comment will be notified that you did. Rate Comments: You can rate others comments based on what you feel they add to the conversation -- and your comments will be rated by others as well. Become a ‘Trusted User’: You can build up ‘Mojo’ and receive ‘Trusted User’ Status which essentially rewards you with a warm, fuzzy sense of communal respect. It also give you increased power to rate others’ comments more forcefully. Mailing List – Newsletter: You can receive the ‘Cortex Digest’ Daily, Weekly, or Monthly via email. The newsletter delivers a summary of headlines and excerpts that appear on the Cortex front page to keep you up to date no matter where you are. Identity: You get your own Username. Have you ever wanted to be ‘Superman’, ‘Mother Nature’, or ‘Hugh Jass’? Now’s your chance. Get ‘em while you can. ‘Hotlist’ Bookmarks: You can bookmark stories and check back to redress an ongoing discussion. Subscribe: You can ‘subscribe’ to your favorite Cortex writers and receive alerts whenever they post something new. Discussion Alerts: You can be alerted whenever someone responds to your comments, keeping you in the thick of any ongoing conversation. So why not go register right now? It’ll only take a moment and the Cortex Community will welcome you with open arms!
Media Inquiries :: Media@PoliticalCortex.com Website Issues :: Webmaster@PoliticalCortex.com General Inquiries :: Admin@PoliticalCortex.com Advertising on Political Cortex :: Advertising@PoliticalCortex.com Individual Cortex Writers :: See AboveWelcome to Political Cortex!Fair Use Notice Political Cortex is a product of Cortex Media Ltd. |
