KNI (social news Page)
A social news web features user-posted stories that are ranked based on popularity. Users can comment on these posts, and these comments may also be ranked. Since their emergence with the birth of web 2.0, these sites are used to link many types of information including news, humor, support, and discussion. Social news relies on crowd sourcing to shape focus in a bottom-u
p fashion, forming a type of collective intelligence. Social news sites facilitate democratic participation on the web
FEATURES
All social news websites allow the users to submit the content in some way. On Slashdot and Fark, for example, the administrators of the site decide which articles make it to the front page. On Reddit and Digg, the articles that get the most votes from the community will make it to the front page. Many social news websites also feature a comment system, where users can form a discussion based on each article. Some of these sites have also applied their voting system to the comments, so that the most popular comments are displayed first. Social news sites facilitate a participatory culture, eliminating the gate keeping of mainstream news sources and allowing the public to decide what counts as "news." In addition to the characteristic of a collective intelligence, social news websites “implies the technical, economic, legal, and human enhancement of a universally distributed intelligence that will unleash a positive dynamic of recognition and skills mobilization.” That is to say that this collective intelligence that social news websites possess share a collective vision and awareness of how their actions are integrated with those of other individuals. Social news websites provide a new and innovating way to participate in a community that is constantly being flooded with new information. These social news websites “include opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, a changed attitude toward intellectual property, the diversification of cultural expression, the development of skills valued in the modern workplace, and a more empowered conception of citizenship.” With that said, these websites can function collectively to shape and reshape democratic opinions and perspectives. Social news sites also support democratic participation by allowing users from across geographic boundaries the ability to access the same information, respond to fellow users views and beliefs, and create a virtual sphere for users to contribute within.