1. MENAlab -A consortium of websites dedicated to bringing the history of the Middle East and North Africa to a wide audience http://middleeastnorthafrica.com/

2. Format: Podcast program/blog Mission: “A weekly internet radio program in English and Turkish offering interviews with scholars and researchers on emerging topics in the study of the Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East.” Administrators: Chris Gratien (Georgetown), Emrah Safa Gürkan (Georgetown) http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/

3. Format: Podcast program/blog Mission: “Creating podcasts on the latest research on Eurasian borderlands” Administrators: Michael Po ł czy ń ski (Georgetown), Paulina Dominik (SOAS) www.thewildfield.com

4. Format: Podcast program/blog Mission: blogs and podcasts “that offer a fresh blend of content related to the history, society, and culture of North Africa.” Administrators: Graham Cornwell (Georgetown) http://tajine.ottomanhistorypodcast.com

5. Format: Blog Mission: “creating a storehouse of information for scholars researching the Middle East and the Islamic world at large”, acquainting scholars with archives, libraries and collections. Administrators: Chris Markiewicz, Nir Shafir http://hazine.info/

6. Format: Blog Mission: “exploring the art and architecture of the Ottoman Empire and beyond, looking at the stories behind the buildings and objects that have been left behind” Administrator: Emily Neumeier (U of Pennsylvania) http://www.stambouline.com/

7. Format: Blog Mission: Providing a venue for research on Polish- Ottoman/Turkish history Administrators: Micheal Po ł czy ń ski (Georgetown), Paulina Dominik (SOAS) http://poloniaottomanica.blogspot.com.tr

8. Format: Blog Mission: “a close to the source document blog displaying primary sources and archival materials intended for use by researchers” Administrator: Sam Dolbee (NYU) http://www.docblog.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/

9. Format: Blog Mission: “bringing you a range of original, visually appealing and intellectually engaging maps harvested from archives and libraries around the world” Administrator: Nick Danforth (Georgetown) http://www.midafternoonmap.com/

10. Main Issues: Collaboration Creating a community of scholars that otherwise may not be able to work together Cannot be fully realized without a certain amount of direct contact Once started, space and time (to a certain degree) not necessarily a constraint Importance of cloud technologies, dropbox, etc. Coordination- release of material

11. Building a Team Co-administration Finding participants Getting past the “fear factor” Limiting and expanding participation?

12. Use(fulness) Why are scholars doing this? Utilizing media to disseminate research, ideas, documents that may otherwise go unnoticed, or that are not reaching potential audiences Familiarizing our audiences and ourselves with a broad spectrum of research related to our fields Bibliographies

13. Format Building a website Blogger, Wordpress, Wikis, Databases domain names, creating a brand (of sorts) The learning curve : Identifying your interests, developing your skills Audio vs. visual content

14. Costs Advertisement Facebook has been monetized Equipment Domain name Software Mostly free

15. Content What limits should be set? Ottoman History Podcast vs. The Wild Field Vetting sources/contributors Equipment, editing Peer review? Creating rubrics Actual creation of content: Well, it’s a lot of work.

16. Dissemination Building an audience: Advertisement (Facebook, Twitter, listservs) Reaching an interdisciplinary, multi-national audience MENAlab network advertisement Built-in statistical analysis tools If well produced and useful, content will probably appeal to audience Produced in multiple languages

17. Intellectual Property Why not affiliate with an institution? legally “fair use” – material used for educational activities Addressing the fears of participants – redefining intellectual space?

18. Timing When is the best time to engage in these types of activities? For various reasons, administrators are all PhD candidates or newly-minted PhDs Staying current, staying alive Utilizing personal networks

19. Future Projects Utilizing crowdsourcing and cloud technologies to create online databases, pedagogical tools Example: Ottoman Inscription Archive

20. The Ottoman Inscription Archive 20 How do You Use the Ottoman Inscription Archive?. 1. Colntributor enters info into form on mobile device 3.Contributor views info on mobile device map Sponsor: … Date: … Photo: … 2.Contributor uploads info to GISCloud database

21. The Ottoman Inscription Archive 21 OIA Database Sponsor: … Date: … Photo: … Translation: ………… How do You Use the Ottoman Inscription Archive?. 1.Translator views info in database using OIA website. 2. OIA administrator updates database 3.Inscription scholar analyzes info in database using OIA website