Rob Neppell – N.Z. Bear

Posted on 08. Oct, 2007 by David Cohn in Politics

Your work in networked/citizen/collaborative journalism.
In 2002, I created the first blog ranking system, The TTLB Blogosphere Ecosystem, and have been active in blogs and new media ever since.

I am the co-founder with Instapundit’s Glenn Reynolds of Porkbusters, and spearheaded the “Secret Hold” effort which resulted in the passage of the historic Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act which will require that all federal spending be posted online in a searchable database accessible to all citizens. Resurrecting a key government transparency bill from oblivion, the Secret Hold campaign was one of the most successful and effective online activism efforts ever (and was also a lot of fun).

I am also the founder of The Victory Caucus, a grassroots organization and web portal aimed at educating the American public on the realities and importance of the Iraq war, in particular by drawing attention to the work of independent embedded journalists like Michael Yon, Bill Roggio and Michael Totten. In September I was honored to be invited to the White House to spend an hour with President Bush and a small group of milbloggers discussing the war in Iraq and the role of online media in the information war.

For my efforts online, I was awarded the first-ever “Blogger of the Year” award in March 2007 at the Conservative Political Action Conference, and am also a member of The Heritage Foundation’s New Media Advisory Board.

What are your goals?
To continue to play an active role in citizen’s journalism and new media through both my “non-profit” efforts as well as my business (see below).

Lesson you’ve learned (including mistakes you’ve made)
Not every grand idea for online journalism/activism works. Some flop. That’s OK: just try the next one!

Are you getting revenue for this? How?I don’t get revenue for my “non-profit” efforts like Porkbusters, but have now launched Kithbridge, Inc., which leverages the infrastructure I have developed for The Truth Laid Bear and my own experience and knowledge to help paying clients understand and connect with new media. Kithbridge offers customized blog monitoring to help clients understand what is being said about them and the topics they care about online, automated blog feeds which can be integrated into clients’ websites, and general strategy consulting to help organizations navigate their way through the blogosphere and identify how best to engage with new media communities.