Many folks in the blogosphere have opposed the idea of having a Congressional “Commission” appointed to investigate the preparation for and response to Katrina, citing (in my opinion, justified) fears that it will turn into a circus like the 9/11 Commission did.
So here’s a suggestion: why not attempt to create a blogosphere-driven commission? Bloggers are already doing much of the investigative work of a commission, but rather than do a post here and a post there on different aspects of the failures that lead to this disaster, why not try to organize a group to actually produce a structured report that could then stand side-by-side with whatever report the ‘official’ commission produces?
One way to do this might be to set up a Wiki that would allow bloggers to collaborate and contribute bits of information they have accumulated on the various sub-topics needing discussion (Federal response, state response, local response, etc.). The Wiki itself might prove robust enough to then be the final report, or alternatively, it could be edited into a more traditional document.
I’m not a huge Wiki-guy myself, and many aren’t, so that’s just one possible way to do it. The mechanism isn’t important: what’s important is finding a way to apply some organization and coherence to the power of the blogosphere and aim all that potential at this particular problem.
I will state up-front that I’m overloaded with other projects right now so I can’t really step up to drive this one myself (although I won’t rule out participating at some level). So who wants to volunteer?
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technology meets creativity in a disaster-prone world. confident enough to try; humble enough to learn.