Selection Criteria for HotSites

PoliticsOnline uses five general criteria to pick HotSites:

1. Editorial Excellence - Sites must be well-written and easy to understand.  The Internet, like the passive media of newspapers, radio and television, is a means of communication.  Good communication requires crisp, clear writing that delivers messages and information in an easy-to-understand manner.
   
   
2. Rich Content - The Internet is about information. Sites should include a variety of kinds of information about candidates and campaigns -- biographies, news releases, issue backgrounders and more.  Most high-quality political Internet sites have a wide variety of content to allow users to get as much information about candidates or campaigns as possible.
   
   
3. Political Relevance - Sites must be updated frequently and have current information.  Users who are looking to the Internet for political information just before Election day don't have much use for sites that haven't been updated in months.
   
   
4. Good Use of the New Technologies - Every day, there are new ways that the Internet is being used in politics to communicate messages, raise money and build organizations.  While no one expects each site to use all of the available technologies, good sites tend to incorporate several technologies. That's what we look for.
   
   
5. Innovation - Because the Internet's uses and functions are growing, sites that make innovative uses of the technology are a "leg-up" on sites that make traditional use of the technology.  We look for all sorts of creative uses of the Internet, no matter how unconventional, such as DogMail (e-mail to a candidate's dog in an Arkansas campaign) or a Daily Diary, as an Australian minister started over the summer. Innovation breeds better uses of the technology.  Through innovation, use of the Web grows and the medium becomes more sophisticated.