It was a 15 minute phone conversation that occurred yesterday between myself and Henry Abbott, who really gets it: If you have a blog, you can try quick experiments like this no problem.

Abbott wanted to paint a picture of New Orleans "as a multi-layered, not a simple happy Disneyland."

And that’s what the NBA PR team is probably trying to convince us all of right now – that all is fine in New Orleans.

He’s on a plane today – so I’m on troll watch at the wiki which has been set up for his readers to contribute links and stories about New Orleans.

What’s great about this little experiment – it’s not just for basketball fans. If you know anybody that might be interested in helping out – send them the link.

A natural question, one I ask myself, is where the line is drawn between beat blogging and citizen journalism. How is this project a "social network for sources" and not just changing the way journalist and readers engage. The full answer will have to wait for another post. The short answer: When you open yourself up online 99 percent of the time, people who step forward to help you are exactly the people you wanted to find. It’s a self-selecting process and when it’s done, you have new sources.