[Web4lib] Is Wikipedia Failing?

[Craig, Emory]

The Wikipedia is / is not failing debate is an in interesting one,
though I doubt there is a definitive answer. But I think the real
question is whether or not the entire project can sustain itself over
the long term. 

The critical questions revolve around the notion of self-interest and
the level of energy required for Wikipedia's survival. Eric Goldman's
blog post hit the mark back in December with his thesis that Wikipedia
will soon fold under the weight of marketers and self-promoters, that
volunteer editors will eventually grow weary of maintaining its
integrity:

http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2006/12/wikipedia_will_1.htm

Goldman made his original prediction in 2005 and gave Wikipedia five
more years. Clearly, he'd love to be in the wrong on this and I hope he
is. However, put Wikipedia next to Google and the contrast is striking.
We also do Google's work (every time we search, every time we add a
link), but we never think of it that way (the actions are entirely
dictated by our self-interest). With Wikipedia, does it help a
contributor to improve any of the 1.6 million articles? Only indirectly
in that one has a sense of gratification in sharing knowledge and
helping out with an amazing social experiment. While that indirect
satisfaction is important and sustains most of our charities and
nonprofits, it remains to be seen if it can sustain the volunteer
editors who have to put in so many hours to make it work. 

I'm not sure where I stand on this and surely do not want to undervalue
everyone's' efforts in Wikipedia (including my own, btw). In one ear, I
keep hearing the words of Margaret Mead that the dedication of a few can
surmount any obstacle. But a skeptical voice keeps whispering in the
other that this, too, may go the way of the Open Directory Project. 

-e

P.s., Thanks Bernie for the link to the Chesney article - an interesting
read.

Emory Craig
Director of Academic Computing
The College of New Rochelle
914-654-5536

 

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Grace J. Agnew
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 2:21 PM
To: Micah Stevens
Cc: (web4lib at webjunction.org)
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Is Wikipedia Failing?

Interesting.

There is a page at bottom, linked to this page, called Wikipedia is Not 
Failing. that appears to be written by Wikipedia administration.  This 
would indicate to me that the Wikipedia administration is aware of the 
first article and their response is not to pull it or edit it, but to 
link a polite rebuttal to the page. Do we think anyone else, (e.g., 
Google) would react in a similar fashion.  I believe this healthy and 
well mannered response to a reasoned critique shows that Wikipedia is 
not failing. 

Grace Agnew

Micah Stevens wrote:
> You might find this article interesting:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_is_failing
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
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