The Truth according to Wikipedia
More info on http://www.vpro.nl/programm... (Dutch)
Google or Wikipedia? Those of us who search online -- and who doesn't? -- are getting referred more and mor...
Google or Wikipedia? Those of us who search online -- and who doesn't? -- are getting referred more and more to Wikipedia. For the past two years, this free online "encyclopedia of the people" has been topping the lists of the world's most popular websites. But do we really know what we're using? Backlight plunges into the story behind Wikipedia and explores the wonderful world of Web 2.0. Is it a revolution, or pure hype?
Director IJsbrand van Veelen goes looking for the truth behind Wikipedia. Only five people are employed by the company, and all its activities are financed by donations and subsidies. The online encyclopedia that everyone can contribute to and revise is now even bigger than the illustrious Encyclopedia Britannica. Does this spell the end for traditional institutions of knowledge such as Britannica? And should we applaud this development as progress or mourn it as a loss? How reliable is Wikipedia? Do "the people" really hold the lease on wisdom? And since when do we believe that information should be free for all? In this film, "Wikipedians," the folks who spend their days writing and editing articles, explain how the online encyclopedia works. In addition, the parties involved discuss Wikipedia's ethics and quality of content. It quickly becomes clear that there are camps of both believers and critics. Wiki's Truth introduces us to the main players in the debate: Jimmy Wales (founder and head Wikipedian), Larry Sanger (co-founder of Wikipedia, now head of Wiki spin-off Citizendium), Andrew Keen (author of The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture and Assaulting Our Economy), Phoebe Ayers (a Wikipedian in California), Ndesanjo Macha (Swahili Wikipedia, digital activist), Tim O'Reilly (CEO of O'Reilly Media, the "inventor" of Web 2.0), Charles Leadbeater (philosopher and author of We Think, about crowdsourcing), and Robert McHenry (former editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia Britannica). Opening is a video by Chris Pirillo.
The questions surrounding Wikipedia lead to a bigger discussion of Web 2.0, a phenomenon in which the user determines the content. Examples include YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and Wikipedia. These sites would appear to provide new freedom and opportunities for undiscovered talent and unheard voices, but just where does the boundary lie between expert and amateur? Who will survive according to the laws of this new "digital Darwinism"? Are equality and truth really reconcilable ideals? And most importantly, has the Internet brought us wisdom and truth, or is it high time for a cultural counterrevolution?
Broadcast date: April 7, 2008 Direction: IJsbrand van Veelen Interviews: IJsbrand van Veelen / Marijntje Denters / Martijn Kieft Research: William de Bruijn / Marijntje Denters Production: Judith van den Berg Commissioning editors: Jos de Putter / Doke Romeijn
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wiki is great, sure if you an uninformed and dont know about citations then fine, but wiki is like the giant directory of knowledge, if you really want to find out about the subject then follow up citations, consider the source, for example if its politics and you follow the citation to a page by the guardian newspaper, expect a leftwards slant, same deal with FOX news for rightwards slant, all these people saying "dont trust wiki" annoy me, its kind of insulting to our intellegence.
Obviously you shouldn't just read anything or trust anything you read, critical thinking can help you in that department. It should also be obvious that anything you read is subject to the viewpoints of its author (book or internet). Even if you have something that is objectively true theres always presenting information in a light favoring you views or omitting information.
My point is that in any situation on the internet all the problems that apply for books can be equally true while losing some of advantages of books like structure and global overview.
I'm not saying that wikipedia cannot provide an in-depth view on anything, I'm just saying that choosing a good book can provide you with more extensive information than a wikipedia article while not having to check every author and reference. Just checking one author and reading critically is enough for a book.
Web 2.0 is a joke. Its a term used so some ass can claim his doctorate. I've been in the web industry since its inception, there is no MAJOR revision of the web paradigm since its start. These new wave yuppies can keep your Volkswagon, overpriced coffee, macbook, and web 2.0. Idiots. Dont waste your time with this video.
Is anyone planning on informing Mr. Keen of how purely ironic it is that his interview is being screened on the internet, specifically on youtube? Or, for that matter, how hypocritical?
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I'm not saying that wikipedia cannot provide an in-depth view on anything, I'm just saying that choosing a good book can provide you with more extensive information than a wikipedia article while not having to check every author and reference. Just checking one author and reading critically is enough for a book.
I've been in the web industry since its inception, there is no MAJOR revision of the web paradigm since its start. These new wave yuppies can keep your Volkswagon, overpriced coffee, macbook, and web 2.0.
Idiots.
Dont waste your time with this video.