NPR had a real neat story on a small Iowa town that uses volunteers to produce its own local paper. I feel it is important as a case study from a social trust angle.
In brief, the main objection I hear to Wikipedia is that there is no authority to lay siege to if entries are not in proper form, yet here is a collaborative piece of journalism being produced by the consumer for the consumer. The fact checking is amongst each other and accountability is ... well ...
I think it works because everyone has a vested interest in the readership and quality of the articles and information in the paper. There has to be some level of trust involved to make this happen, and I feel it is a trust only a small community can create. I wonder if a community of trust like that of Lost Nation, Iowa can arise in virtual space. Clearly Lost Nation has the special ingredient and identifying it could expedite formation of trusting communities wherever they may be.
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