David Black posted on June 21, 2007 21:25
I was analyzing an image converter offered on Tuesday by the Giveaway of the Day website. Connected to a comment about this software title was a link to a Wikipedia article comparing various image viewers. What amazed me was how comprehensive these comparisons were. Every piece of information, from file format to platform to cost, was listed here. Would this type of information been found within a typical encyclopedia? Of course not! But the collaborative nature of this site allows for the sharing of data that may not be scholarly, but is relevant to modern life.
According to Wikinomics (which I'm in the process of reading at the moment), there are over 730,000 new articles added to Wikipedia each year. That means that just about every imaginable niche topic may be addressed in this resource. Incredible!
Yes there are still concerns about the accuracy of certain articles, and Wikipedia will likely to continue to be criticized because its infromation collectgion model is so different from previous models. But I think it is time to stop thinking of Wikipedia as an encyclopedia -- something akin to Encylopedia Britannica, or like volumes. The reality is that Wikipedia has evolved into so much more.