WebProWorld
Last week, it was revealed that Wikipedia would be making some changes to its rules for editing. It was reported that the site was testing pages that would require people editing entries to have their changes approved by "experienced" editors before the changes would be made.
Now it appears that some other specific editorial changes are in store for the widely used encyclopedia site. The people behind Wikipedia reportedly intend to implement a color coded system of trust, called WikiTrust.
Well, the news organizations must love this one. With all of the controversy that has been going on in the online news world, and in particular, the tension between big news organizations and Google, it must have come as a surprise to a lot of people to learn that Google News is now featuring Wikipedia entries in its results.
It appears that all Wikimedia content will become available for free under the Creative Commons License soon. This has been approved by a 75% majority of community voters, though the decision has not yet been approved by the Wikimedia Foundation’s board of trustees. The licensing update/result page says:
Some controversy stirred up earlier this week after the Electronic Frontier Foundation stepped in on behalf of the creators of Wikipediaart.org, a site dedicated to a Wikipedia-related art project. The EFF was responding to demands by a lawyer for the Wikimedia Foundation, the parent company of Wikipedia, that the artists turn over control of the domain.
Murdok recently spoke with Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia for a few minutes, and discussed the past, present, and future of user-generated content as a marketing medium, not to mention several other topics. What kinds of brands do you think work the best for marketing with consumer-generated content? Share your thoughts with us.
When fans across the globe read of composer Maurice Jarre’s death at the end of March, they were treated to a charming quote: “One could say my life itself has been one long soundtrack. Music was my life, music brought me to life, and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, that only I can hear.”
It’s cute, but the thing is, Jarre never said it. Irish college student Shane Fitzgerald did, on Wikipedia.
UDPATE, 5/1/09: Wales got back with us with his comments about the matter. They are as follows:
Parts of the UK government may start to take after some ultra-popular websites and online services if David Cameron has his way. Cameron, the leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, directed nods toward Wikipedia, Google, and Microsoft in a recent speech.
Explore the complex relationship between objectivity and bias in journalism, focusing on recent debates surrounding Wikipedia’s editing practices.
As always, consider the source. In this case, consider the source considering another source. (If you want to be a stickler, you can include me in that consideration, a source considering a source considering another source. Ah, academics.) World Net Daily reports changes made to Wikipedia’s entry on Barack Obama regarding his citizenship issues were deleted within minutes, and users were banned after trying again.
