In which we learn what Twitter is like, too • Remember when we noted how Wikipedia had passed the mark of 3m articles in English? Well, from there things are going downhill a bit. Editors are leaving, the Wall Street Journal points out (and Silicon Valley Insider has a chart which shows thousands having left over the past year, with the number accelerating). Is Wikipedia worried? The WSJ says:...
Martin Belam is one of those who has picked up on the story about the number of people contributing to Wikipedia falling away. He makes the reasonable comment: Not entirely convinced by this argument. Yes edit wars and holier-than-thou editors on Wikipedia can be frustrating, but frankly, with over 3 million English language articles already written, [...]
Wikipedia may be the fifth-most-popular website in the world, but most of those viewers come to look without adding or changing any of the content on the site. And if viewers stop contributing content, Wikipedia will cease to survive. According to the Wall Street Journal, that's not so far fetched. Wikipedia is currently hemorrhaging article editors. If Wikipedia can't get people to contribute to its...
Ever wished you had a source of vaguely spurious facts readily to hand so that you could settle arguments at will? Then gaze with wonder upon the WikiReader
The openness of internet phenomenon Wikipedia will lead to better knowledge, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales says, and adds that his proudest moment was seeing the open-source built encyclopaedia become available in 175 languages.
I previously blogged about how some of the key statistics for Wikipedia suggest the site is stagnating or declining. This picture is reinforced by new evidence: A sharp drop in Wikipedians, the volunteers who write and edit the online encyclopaedia, is a disturbing and inevitable trend, the Toronto man who was once their top contributor said [...]
Élysée TreatyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaÉlysée Treaty also known as the Treaty of Friendship, was concluded by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer in 1963.It set the seal on reconciliation between the two countries. With it, Germany and France established a new foundation for relations that ended centuries of rivalry between them. On 22 January 2003, the 40th...
Budget of the European UnionFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe European Union (EU) is an association of 27 independent member states. The Administration of the Union has a parliament, a civil serviceand a judiciary that is distinct from those of the member states. These arms administer the application of treaties, laws and agreements between the member states and their expenditure on common
I was searching for information about an animal that is common in South-East Asia, and for once, Google not only had the Wikipedia link, but also the Encyclopaedia Britannica link. I thought I’d amuse myself and click it, considering I used to read dead-tree encyclopaedia’s from the 60’s. I can understand the need to monetise content, [...]
From CNET: Wikipedia's exponential growth over this decade is due to the efforts of the millions of volunteers who write, edit, and check its entries. But could that volunteer effort now be in danger? Volunteers have increasingly been quitting Wikipedia en masse for a variety of potential reasons, according to Monday's Wall Street Journal. Read more ....
Drawing on the enthusiasm of crowds is critical to the success of open source projects. However, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales — no stranger to the virtues of collaborative enterprises — reminds us that there are limits to how far this can be taken. (more…)
The Hadron collider works. We’re all still here! Bigger test coming. AOL changes name and logo. Cripes. ATT&T does prepaid broadband. Apple chewing up all the mobile broadband traffic. Apple voids warranty on smokers who smoke around the computer. It’s supposedly a hazard to workers. New USB wireless HDD. Wikipedia losing volunteers. MSFT or [...]
Volunteers Log Off as Wikipedia Ages Wikipedia.org is losing unprecedented numbers of the millions of online volunteers who write, edit and police the world's fifth-most-popular Web site. age n. The length of time that one has existed; duration of life: 23 years of age. The time of life when a person becomes qualified to assume certain civil and personal rights and responsibilities, usually at 18 or...
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