CTL-IDX-001 — The CultureTechLens Index: Methodology

CTL-IDX-001 — The CultureTechLens Index: Methodology

CULTURETECHLENS · “Culture, Clearly Seen.” · Black Cultural Intelligence
Program spec v1.1 — 2026-09-28. Status: METHODOLOGY FINALIZED; Edition 2026-10 published.

1. What it is

A monthly, data-driven ranking of cultural figures, moments, artifacts, or places drawn from Black Chicago’s cultural record — published by CultureTechLens NFP as a citable public source. Each edition ranks one category per month on a transparent, reproducible 0–100 score.

The Index measures cultural resonance — how present a subject is in the documented record and in current public attention — not worth, greatness, or moral standing. Rankings describe the data. They do not crown winners.

2. Cadence and rotation

• Published monthly, on the first Tuesday of each month.
• One category per edition, rotating: Figures → Moments → Artifacts → Places → repeat.
• Each edition ranks exactly 10 subjects (the “CTL 10”).
• Special editions (anniversary months, e.g., Black History Month) permitted; methodology unchanged.

3. Scoring model (v1)

Index Score (0–100) = weighted composite of three signals:

• Scores rounded to one decimal. Ties broken by evidence depth, then alphabetical.
• Every edition publishes the full signal breakdown per subject — never just the rank.
• Candidate pool: subjects drawn from CTL’s verified research corpus (flagship packages, knowledge graph). No subject enters the ranking that CTL has not independently documented.
• Recomputation is scripted (ctl-index.py); no hand-tuned scores, ever.

4. What the Index does NOT do

• It does not rank living people by “importance” or “greatness.” Figure editions are framed as most documented / most referenced, and the copy says so explicitly.
• It does not present rank as value. Edition copy uses “highest-scoring in this month’s set,” never “most important.”
• It does not use superlatives the data cannot support (“world’s leading,” “definitive”).
• It does not change methodology mid-year. Annual methodology review each January; changes versioned (v1, v2…).

5. Citability standard

Every edition ships with:

• A stable URL (culturetechlens.com/research/culturetechlens-index/; Beehiiv mirror until the site is live).
• A suggested citation string.
• A downloadable CSV of the full scored table (all 10 subjects, all signals).
• A link to this methodology document.
• A version date and a public corrections log.

6. Monthly production workflow

1. Candidate selection (founder + research lead): 12–15 candidates from the CTL corpus for the month’s category.
2. Data pull (scripted): pageviews + KG evidence depth → scored table.
3. Editorial pass: one-line “why it moved” for each subject; trend arrows vs. prior edition (same category).
4. Rights review: imagery only where rights-cleared; Object Biographies and diagrams preferred.
5. Publish: site + newsletter, first Tuesday of the month, 6:00 AM CT.
6. Pitch: embargoed media outreach 3 days prior.
7. Measure: track citations, pickups, and inbound links; iterate.

7. Limitations (published with every edition)

• Wikipedia pageviews skew toward subjects with English Wikipedia articles and internet-era attention.
• CTL’s corpus skews toward what CTL has researched so far; under-documented subjects score lower on evidence depth by construction.
• The Index reflects resonance in the record, not community sentiment on the ground.
• Monthly recomputation means ranks move; movement is signal, not verdict.

8. Branding

Every edition carries the CULTURETECHLENS wordmark, “Culture, Clearly Seen.” “Black Cultural Intelligence,” and the black / deep red / gold identity.

Change log

• 2026-09-28 — v1.0 methodology finalized. Pipeline scripted. Edition 001 topic pending founder decision.
• 2026-09-28 — v1.1: evidence-depth source clarified. Until research packages are ingested into CTL-KG-CORE-001, evidence depth is computed from the edition’s named source research package (same formula family: claim grades + relationship counts + biography bonus). The source package is always named in the edition. No scores change hands — only the corpus address.