The document discusses the history and evolution of Wikipedia. It began in 2001 as a counterpart to Nupedia, growing to over 20,000 articles in its first year. Wikipedia is now the largest online encyclopedia, containing information on almost any subject contributed by its users. While initially very successful due to its open collaborative model, concerns about reliability and stability have been raised. However, studies have found Wikipedia to be about as accurate as Britannica, and errors are usually corrected within minutes or hours. The founders now aim to focus more on quality over quantity of content going forward.

1. By: Shawn Marley, Cameron Turcotte, Svetlana Plotnikov
Professor : Darin McRae
Information Technology and the Business Student

2.  In our computerized era technology is essential
part of our lives.
 Many people use research tools and databases
to find information
 There are many information sources available
free of charge.

3.  One of the biggest collaborative sites
 Has an untraditional approach of sharing
information
 Very popular around the globe

4.  Was launched as a counterpart to the Nupedia
 By the end of the first year Wikipedia had
20,000 articles on its account
 As of today Wikipedia is the largest data
depository in the world

5.  Contains information on almost any subject
 There is no legal ownership to any of the
articles
 People can add, remove or modify any posted
article
 Some additions apply certain rules on adding
and modifying information

6.  MSN Encarta
 InfoPlease
 Encyclopedia Britannica

7.  Online Source
 Trusted Sources
 Lots of Content
 Yearly Fee

8.  Online Source
 Trusted Sources
 Free to Use
 Lack of Detail

9.  Online & Paperback
 Best Known
 Trustworthy Information
 Annual Fee

10.  Constant source of discussion
 Key Concerns:
 Lack of credentialed, expert review
 Information is easily modified

11.  Nature Study (2005)
 Similar error rates in Wikipedia and
Encyclopedia Britannica
 PC Pro Magazine Study (2007)
 Errors corrected within minutes
 Magnus (2008)
 Errors corrected or flagged within 5 hours

12.  Lack of Stability
 Limited Reliability
 Excellent starting point for
research

13.  Explosive start
 Rapid Expansion
 Volatile commodity
Prediction is a Challenge!

14. “We are moving into the next phase and the
community’s interest has turned from the
metrics of how many articles as this becomes
less and less meaningful to quality”
Jimmy Wales
Co-founder of Wikipedia

15.  Current measure of success is volume
 “Quantity” vs “Quality”
 Flagged revision system

16.  Benefit or Detriment?
 Verification will address reliability concern, but...
 Delays in publication may become a dissatisfier

17.  Wikipedia will Change!
 Include collaborative tools
 Focus on quality over quantity

18.  Created as:
 a collaborative information store house
 Premise:
 Any user can add or edit information
 Successful

19.  Successful, but...
 Information reliability and stability concerns
 Will change in the future

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/2027
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http://www.infodocket.com/2012/03/11/wikimedia-usage-and-data-statistics-
january-2012-21-2-million-wikipedia-articles-at-the-momeny/
 Tam. D (2012) Retrieved June 30, 2012 http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57457049-
93/new-site-looks-at-wikipedia-trends-by-tracking-article-edits/p://
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22.  Top 7 Alternatives to Wikipedia | OEDb. (2008). Online Education
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wikipediaWiki -
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from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
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