"Something more than comment threads and share buttons," wrote Jay Rosen. For a news website to move to a new level of engagement, its structure must allow the most active users to do more than comment, share, and post the occasional suggestion for an article. Comment is free at the Guardian does all of that very well, and readers who write comments end up with a rudimentary sort of blog as a result. But it's not really a blog. The reader-turned-writer can't initiate anything there at the "blog," nor can other readers use the "blog" as a site for conversation--all the conversation takes place in the comment stream of the article that sparked the first comment. The reader-turned-writer remains a different sort of citizen than the staff or freelance folks who appear on the main page. My hunch is that the next level of engagement must break down that wall of difference and risk more equality.

Jay Rosen suggested the need for a new website structure, maybe also a workflow structure as well. Here is a great opportunity and challenge: how to invite participation, maintain quality, and take advantage of those benefits that participation can bring. I recall an old idea of mine, which was for a paper to invite the authors of the best couple of letters each week to have a column once a month for three months. Good writers, already proven, invited on board every week.... There must be some digital equivalents that we can look forward to seeing the Omidyar group test in the months ahead. Best wishes...