[Web4lib] Authority + Wikipedia

[Peter Morville]

In response to Karen...

First, for those who haven't read the article, I'd like to note that it was
written (and should be read) with a sense of humor.

Second, as a librarian who's married to a librarian, I'd like to note that
much of what happens in libraries and some of what is taught in library
schools is not evidence-based.

Third, I'm including below some facts about the Wikipedia. Its growing
popularity as a reference source makes it worthy of study by academics and
librarians. I, for one, would love to see some serious evidence-based
academic research that compares the quality and accuracy and bias of the
Wikipedia to traditional reference sources.

Fourth, if you read the article, you'll see that I am not unaware of the
Wikipedia's flaws.

Fifth, I just wrote about the Web without mentioning Google.

Cheers!


Peter Morville
President, Semantic Studios
http://semanticstudios.com
http://findability.org

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Wikipedia Popularity
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/gBdN0T9JTAMddv/Wiki-Mania.xhtml

The Web site is among the 100 most-visited on the Internet, according to Web
traffic analysis firm Alexa. The firm reports that Wikipedia is the 58th
most-visited site globally, compared to a 69th-place ranking for About.com,
the citizen-expert site acquired by The New York Times earlier this year for
US$410 million.

Original Article (Authority)
http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000057.php