Crowdsourced journalism site Spot.us has listened to its audience and has tweaked its process. According to Nieman Journalism Lab, “Users can now easily follow updates on a reporter’s pitch and donate their time or expertise to a story, instead of just their money.” This is a good change, because it allows different levels of interaction. Founder David Cohn also talks about another RSS/Email feature that lets people follow a story from start to finish. (Currently, you read the pitch then see the outcome.) The site is also taking a new approach to crowdsourcing. David Cohn says:

“Users can also donate their time and talents. Writers had told Spot.us that sometimes they need help with mundane reporting work, like scanning documents. Many reporters want help with photos. The idea was to allow writers to “make an open call for help on specific tasks.” It’s crowdsourcing, but on an individual basis.”

Spot.us has also released an embeddable widget that will reflect these changes. We strongly recommend keeping a sharp eye on this fascinating experiment.

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