Open Source Journalism

Feeling blogged to death? We are. We have to write one everyday. But here's some relief: there's a new trend emerging on the Internet that seems to be growing by the day. It's called open-source journalism (the name comes from the open-source software movement that has brought us such gems as the Linux operating system and the Mozilla Firefox Web browser) and it's basically a higher form of blogging. Everyday people who aren't journalists take a stab at writing news and features that later get posted online and edited by other readers. It represents true community based reporting and it's a development that could have major implications for the future of the media. This week, the third major "open source" media site opened -- the publishers of the News & Record  newspaper in Greensboro, North Carolina, determined after a bit of research that the best way to revamp its Web site was to completely turn it over to its readers. You can see the results here. And you can find similar projects at the Northwest Voice  in Bakersfield, California, and Wikinews  .

Santa's Real Home ... Really

So where does Santa actually come from? For years, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Greenland have been battling it out for that particular claim to fame. It is Greenland, however, where Santa has his coolest Web site . Lots of Santa stories and a virtual advent calendar await. And, of course, you can send Santa a last minute e-mail -- the site operators say they answer every one. (But give them a bit of a break this year -- Santa's staff has been cut due to budget cuts.)