I think part of answer is targeting graduate students, and new academics (i.e., Assistant Professors). They are the ones who are more likely to be accepting of such technology and or probably looking for a variety of tools to advance their careers. I would suggest working to generate a list of Assistant Professors, and then sending them a letter inviting them to join. As a function of this, making sure that the letter is addressed specifically to them (which is pretty easy to do using different mass mailing programs) would be a very nice touch.

Whether OPIWEB is better suited for Q&A is an emprical question. Much hinges on the extent to which people who are expert in their field are willing to devote time an energy to engaging in the community which is mediated through this technology. This will be as much about the quality of interaction and the community norms which evlove as it is about the technology.

At best the technology is a hygiene factor

The common thread among academics is that we're short on time. If this becomes a resource where there are good answers to common questions that students ask, then it might be marketed in that way to academics... such as mentioning in an I-O course syllabus that questions/answers about getting into I-O as a career would be available on OPIEWeb... that might help a bit.

But, and I raise this point not to be a bummer but to continue the conversation: I have gotten to recognize and value input from certain members on certain listservs. Not everyone on OPIEWeb has a real name posted, and besides profiles, no good way to check the source of the answer to the questions. It would take a lot of time on OPIEWeb for me to recognize folks I don't already know (hi Russell) and determine whether I value their input. I know that sounds harsh, but research shows trust is built over time (which brings me back to my first sentence).

So how is OPIEWeb different? Some of it is content - I don't know where to turn to get I-O teaching questions answered. Some of it is the type of exchange - this might be a good place to get a "water cooler" discussion going that is more give-and-take and exploratory than looking for a direct answer to an I-O puzzler that might be more efficiently handled by a listserv.

Just some food for thought...

Allow users to email in responses rather than use a webpage. Further, track the responses via email and/or RSS feed.

There needs to be a working RSS feed for new questions and possibly one for new answers to existing questions. There seems to be some kind of RSS feed, but it's empty unless I'm missing something obvious. I'm not going to come back to OPIEWeb regularly to check to see what's new. That's my RSS reader's job.

Mmm,I am dimly recall something somebody said about academics and their use of 2.0. Maybe it will come to me in the night.

But you have reminded me - tell some more psychologists. I'll try to do a few tomorrow.