There are three main differences. The first is not technical. Right now storylines are usually written by one author. He/she is the author for each article in the storyline just like most blogs. However, we ask each author to tell just one story over time rather than posting all sorts of interesting tidbits. While blogs can go all over the place, we ask our writers to stick to one story and cover it well.

The second difference is technical. Our storylines are dynamic. Editors can combine any series of articles into a storyline. This kind of editorial control is really great. And because we built our system with this kind of flexibility in mind from the start, we have an amazing content manegement system.

Third, intent is very important. Our intent is to enable the best stories and the the best conversations. We work very hard to elevate both along side each other. We believe that each are equally important. We use many tools that blogging platforms use. We use many tools that great forums use. We have created an outstanding layout system so that editors can make the whole site look just like a newspaper. We are using the very best tools from all over the web to build the very best site for Sacramento. While the tools bear some resemblance, the most important difference is that in the right hands and with the right intent, these tools become great concepts for enabling people to tell stories and have conversations about important local issues that are not being covered by the local media.