Wikipedia

1. Wikipedia Erin Wolfe 4/3/08 CC 590

2. What is a Wiki? • A wiki is website that allows users to collaboratively create, edit, link, and organize the content of a website, usually for reference material • The most popular is Wikipedia; however, there are many wikis on the internet • Some corporations and institutions have wikis on their intranet for “knowledge management”

3. What is Wikipedia • A combination of the words “wiki” and “encyclopedia” • Launched in 2001, Wikipedia is a free,multilingual, open content encyclopedia project • As of March 2008, has over 10 million articles in 253 languages • Currently ranked #9 most popular website globally (alexa.com)

4. Pros and Cons • Pros • Place to find basic information quickly • Can point you in the right direction for more in-depth research • Example: www.wikipedia.com • Cons • Not generally accepted as reliable information since the articles can be created and edited by anyone • Encyclopedias of any type are not usually appropriate as primary sources, and should not be relied upon as authoritative

5. Other related sites • Wikiquote – database of quotes • Wikispecies – directory of species • Wikinews – free content news source • Wikibooks – library of educational textbooks • Wikiversity – free learning resources/tools • Wiktionary – online dictionary • Wikisource – texts that are in the public domain • Wikimedia Commons – shared media repository

6. Wikimedia Foundation • Non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) based out of San Francisco, CA • Administers all of the previously mentioned Wiki sites • Statement of purpose: collecting and developing educational content and to disseminate it effectively and globally • Funded mainly by donations, but also by grants. • In March 2008 the foundation announced its largest donation to date: a three-year, $3 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation