Friday, 30 September 2011

Wikipedia

Wikipedia was launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger

The owners of Wikipedia don't own any traditional media businesses

I don't think the owners of Wikipedia own any other internet companies

Wikipedia is a non-profit organisation, so they make no revenue

Three key facts about Wikipedia:
  • Registered users can write articles
  • Over 270 languages
  • Articles about recent events appear quickly on Wikipedia, so some people consider it to be like a news resource

Linked articles - Democratisation of knowledge and User-generated content

Democratisation of knowledge:

  • Spread of knowledge among everyone, not just the elite
  • The printing press and industrial revolution
  • 400 million viewers worldwide
  • Google Book Search

User-generated content:

  • 'Conversational media' encourages people to publish their own content
  • Citizen journalism is now a significant part of broadcast news

Quote from Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia - "Professionals are no longer needed for the bare purpose of mass distribution of information and the shaping of opinion"

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