Someone Needs To Tell Them What We Want.

Leave off either of those two things and most people will feel a bit lost.  Leave out both of them and most people will feel totally lost.

For the first item a simple "If you're new, push this button" link could direct the newbie to a volunteer who would welcome the newbie and walk them through the site.  Right away, the newcomer has made a friend and feels better about being here.

For the second item, some structure is needed.  And for that we need look only as far as Toastmasters, a non-profit speaking organization.  The similarities abound.  Toastmasters is about speaking, CJ is about writing.  Speaking is a learned skill developed over time, as is writing.

Most importantly, both skills can be improved with a self paced program of learning modules.

The first speech in Toastmasters is called the Ice Breaker.  In this speech, a person stands up and speaks about themselves.  Their only requirement is to try to overcome their nervousness and they only have to speak for 4-6 minutes.

I see no reason why every new CJ can't be asked to do the same.  A small essay about something interesting about themselves.  It's just an example, but string this together with nine other assignments that walk a person through the skills required for citizen journalism and presto, the person has been somewhat trained.  Mail them a certificate.

You'd be surprised how much people treasure this stuff.  I have a stack of such certificates, awards and trophies from Toastmasters and I don't throw any of it away.  Most of it is on my walls or sits on my desk.  I've been rewarded for my participation.  Guess what?  I want to do more.

It's a small thing, but what if the certificates and awards showed up under the personal profile, not just as plain text, but as a nice line drawing or pictures, showing that this person had accomplished something worthwhile in the site.

This does two things.  First, you can now check out someone's profile and find out their level of volunteerism and second, you have something to work for yourself.  It becomes a bit of a game.

Further along, advanced manuals can also be created.  For example, a manual on investigative journalism, asking the person working on the manual to participate in different ways on an investigative story.

The introduction of such structure will have the effect of making it easy for people to try new things and push themselves.  My experience is that most volunteers need this sort of support if they are to contribute in a meaningful way.  And by most I mean the large majority of people out there who might volunteer, but are confused by it all.

The easier we make the process of volunteering, the more people will want to do it.