Can journalists lead online communities

Kidding aside, writing in any interactive environment is an act of leadership. Your words, your tone and your style not only inform your audience, they provide a model – an example – for those in the community who will write for that community, as well. And your silence creates a vacuum of leadership that others may fill.

Robert Niles nails it.

Sunlight Foundation’s “Save the Data” site to find out what you can do to make sure this doesn’t happen.