The Many Voices of Wikipedia, Heard in One Place - New York Times

The Many Voices of Wikipedia, Heard in One Place - New York Times

I have long been a supporter of Wikipedia because of its broad coverage of knowledge. Critics contend there is no central authority responsible for the content, thus it cannot be trusted. Conversely, I maintain that, by and large, over time the tens of thousands of people who create and edit the entries will insure that the content is current, accurate and relevant. The work of a mischievous few will be found and corrected by the diligent majority.

What isn't clear is whether the momentum Wikipedia had in its infancy and now in its adolescence can be maintained. Will the enthusiasm burn as brightly 5-10 years from now when people move to other things.

I think wikis also have substantial value inside enterprises for people to maintain project, client, supplier or marketing information all in one place for all needing to know it and contribute new or changing information.

My experience, albeit a few years dated, is that information content was not shared as widely as it could have been and that wikis could improve collaboration and sharing. People relied on email and attachments because they were comfortable with it, but for the kind of focused content sharing in a common repository, email was lacking. Wikis would be far superior, but require a culture change that probably would be tough to implement in corporate cultures that rely on email.