Editor's Note: Today we have a guest post from Ben Ilfeld, Operations Manager of the Sacramento Press.

Our contributors are not "free labor." They all have incentive to write or they simply would not write. The question then is what incentives compel writers to write?

For example, Facebook compels me to upload photos and share links by connecting me with my friends and family in an easy and relatively private way.

At The Sacramento Press our goal is to provide local news and information. We need to incentivize writers to contribute that content.

The Alliance for Community Media launched a new citizen journalism listserv today. Here's the info:

"The Alliance for Community Media's Citizen Journalism listserv is an email discussion forum for individuals and organizations interested in connecting with others and building best practices around citizen journalism projects affiliated with community media centers."