Andrew Lih is a Wikipedia insider, having been an administrator (a trusted user who is granted access to technical features) for over seven years, as well as a regular host of the weekly Wikipedia podcast. He is also an academic who writes and commentates on new media, journalism and technology and has taught at Columbia University and the University of Hong Kong.
"'Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing.' Jimmy Wales"
"'Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing.' Jimmy Wales"
Wikipedia is a revolutionary phenomenon, changing fundamentally the landscape of networked collaboration, e-learning, and, as librarians know all too well, mediated information provision. Depicted here is a Wikipedia insider's narrative of the development of Wikipedia. The reader cannot help but become a Wikipedia enthusiast, rooting for the volunteers and lamenting the often public setbacks. The passion and commitment of the early founders and the continuing skyrocketing success of this resource and community truly inspire in a way few online networked communities can. Beijing-based Lih, who formerly taught at Columbia University's School of Journalism, characterizes this revolution as only partly technological. The real revolution is social-an apt point when one considers the philosophical underpinnings of this resource, the articles' neutral point of view, while remaining a free resource anyone can use and distribute. The manner in which volunteers labor tirelessly to shape and then govern over Wikipedia's success underscores the social attributes of this revolution. For anyone who has ever wondered how and why Wikipedia rivals standard encyclopedic works; recommended for larger public libraries.-Jim Hahn, Univ. of Illinois Lib., Urbana Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
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