The Delphi Method* makes use of a panel of experts, selected based on the areas of expertise required:
The notion is that well-informed individuals, calling on their insights and experience, are better equipped to predict the future than theoretical approaches or extrapolation of trends. Their responses to a series of questionnaires are anonymous, and they are provided with a summary of opinions before answering the next questionnaire. It is believed that the group will converge toward the "best" response through this consensus process.
Enter Roger L. Simon. Is he into the Delphi Method per se, or is it just a mystery writer's instinct?
A rather overwhelming consensus seems to have emerged that the emphasis at Pajamas Media/Blog News Service should not be on being "fair and balanced" (judged to be inexact terms for a variety of reasons), but to be "honest and transparent." This latter had many interesting and sometimes amusing permutations, but one I liked was that we should imitate Sgt. Joe Friday of the old Dragnet show and seek "Just the facts, ma'am."
So far, so good. We found ourselves attempting to converge our own "Taking sides is what blogging is all about" response toward Mr. Simon's "best response through this consensus process." Fascinating.
*Originally developed by the RAND Corporation in 1969 for technological forecasting, the Delphi Method is a group decision process about the likelihood that certain events will occur. Today it is also used for environmental, marketing and sales forecasting.
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