ND crowdsource site buds in first month

(posted April 2, 9:50 am) — Dear Gentle Readers and Contributors,

A month ago I went before the media gods on bended knee, head down, murmuring reverently, to place a flickering candle at the altar of digital startups and ask for blessing and protection for the relaunch of the Nicaragua Dispatch.

The media gods were skeptical about the idea of a crowdsource news site in Nicaragua, the country with the lowest Internet connectivity in the Western Hemisphere. But for sport they agreed to give the project a chance, just to see what would happen.

Our Gentle Readers responded. In the first month we had 100 people — Nicaraguans and foreigners alike — register as contributors, and we published 33 community dispatches. We’ve published community articles on everything from travel, politics and economics, to expat adventures, community service and cooking columns. This are original articles that share our collective experience, views and opinions of Nicaragua.

We’ve also seen interesting activity on the community forum and — to a lesser extent — on the community calendar (more folks should take advantage of this; it’s free advertising for your events!)

The Instagram (#nicadispatch) and Twitter feeds (@nicadispatch) are also registering an uptick in activity, providing readers with snapshots of this fascinating and quirky land.

Thanks to all the early adopters who have embraced this project, been unafraid to voice their opinions, and given life to the vision of a community-sourced news site. All insights and information about Nicaragua is interesting to someone.

Support freedom of expression in Nicaragua. Join the conversation. Read, write, participate.

Thanks,

Tim