05-05-2009, 11:23 AM | #1 (permalink) | ||
The Reforms
Location: Rarely, if ever, here or there, but always in transition
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[Book] The Wikipedia Revolution by Andrew Lih
- How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia I recently readjusted my circadian rhythm again this past weekend, so I ended up awakening at the always fun hour of 2am on a Saturday evening (or Sunday twilight if you prefer). So, after washing up, making a sandwich, and deciding whether I wanted to read, get sports highlights online, or watch TV, I chose the latter. I eventually ended up on C Span-2 for the first time, and I got drawn into this collegiate discussion about the origins and impact of Wikipedia. It was a lecture provided by Author Andrew Lih, with aid and questions added by The Professor, at Harvard University. Although the program was this weekly series called "BookTV", and it was broadcast on C Span, it was an absolutely riveting two-hour explanation of Wikipedia throughout the world. Although I have not yet read the book, I eagerly intend to after the performance I was witness to because of the televised program. I'll let the Author persuade you as well: Lih provided great insight into how the community started, spread, sometimes failed, and otherwise revolutionized how a vast portion of the internet population received their information. He compared the original US Wikipedia, which house nearly 3 million articles to date, to the more meticulously-moderated German version's 900,000 articles, which is more respected by higher institutions & universities in Europe because of the integral work by the staff to maintain the integrity of Wikipedia as a "true internet encyclopedia"; it then goes to the story of the heated-outrage that the Spanish Wiki's community took in hearing a subtle rumor that the site might possibly consider advertisements to help pay for the upkeep, and the subsequent abandonment of the site by nearly all top Spanish contributors, to the anonymous playground that is the Japanese site. He also retells the story of Essjay controversy, why there are inclusionists & deletionists, and makes quite a handful of candid remarks about Wikipedia's exploding popularity, and how it was known in certain subsects as "The Definitive Guide to Pokémon". Here is the official youtube introduction to the program, as I found it was just uploaded yesterday. from Joho The Blog: Quote:
And again, The Professor speaks, and provides recaps for those who might've missed the show: Quote:
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As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves. —Mohandas K. Gandhi |
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05-23-2009, 07:17 PM | #2 (permalink) |
The Reforms
Location: Rarely, if ever, here or there, but always in transition
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Bump, because the episode will be re-airing tomorrow, and I finally ordered the book online as well.
__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves. —Mohandas K. Gandhi |
Tags |
andrew, book, lih, revolution, wikipedia |
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