I edit an unusual news aggregator that was actually incubated at InSTEDD: http://wwww.TrackerNews.net. It’s a little unusual in that stories are told through groups of links selected for contextual relevance. Breaking news stories can be paired with research papers, older articles, links to organization websites, wiki’s blog posts, book sites, etc. Everything eventually ends up in a searchable database. There is actually quite a bit more going on both on the site and behind the scenes, including the development of a custom aggregation. Here is a little slide show that will give you better of the scope of content: http://tinyurl.com/5zycet

I also happen to be based in Chicago, so it seems like it’s time our paths crossed.

A couple of thoughts re the trip to Haiti:

1) Don’t forget solar cell phone chargers. I understand through the grapevine that Google.org has helped deliver thousands to Haiti, but you never know whether they’ll be where you need them. Fuel for generators is super pricey. The electric grid? H’mmmm. Best to play it safe with a few solar chargers in a your bag… (btw, I believe Samsung developed a phone with a built in solar charger. some of those are making their way to Haiti but who knows how good the phones are…)

2) TrackerNews is all about collecting and connecting the dots via links. We had so many course through on Haiti that we’ve roughed a TrackerNews Haiti Resources page. It’s an electic mix of organizations, services, news stories: http://www.TrackerNews.net/haiti & background: http://trackerblog.trackernews.net/2010/01/26/trackernews-haiti-a-special-resources-page/

Good luck on your travels & fundraising. Let’s meet at the Wishbone for some hoppin john & corn muffins when you come back.

Best,

J.A. Ginsburg
on twitter @TrackerNews