Wikipedia

I honestly do not use Wikipedia as much as others might. I Google anything and everything I need an answer to or information about. I think the main reason why I do not use Wikipedia very much is because a lot of professors do not encourage their students to use the search engine. Many professors do not like when students site or quote information from Wikipedia. I do believe that Wikipedia is a very fascinating thing. It mentions in The New Yorker Article that Wikipedia is the seventeenth most popular site on the Internet. It generates more daily traffic then MSNBC.com and the Times and Wall Street Journal online. Wikipedia has an entry on just about anything people need information about. The Encyclopedia Britannica only has a hundred and twenty thousand entries. That is one thing I found really unique about Wikipedia. Another thing about the Wikipedia that is unique is that anyone with Internet access can create a Wikipedia entry or edit an existing one.

I think Wikipedia could conquer expertise. In Lessig’s book, Remix, he explains to the audience that everyone is free to access Wikipedia and anyone has the opportunity to edit or contribute to the information entry. This is known as interacting and exchanging information with the world. Lessig likes to make it clear that Wikipedia is a positive thing because it is a free information source; a free information source that contains more information than the Encyclopedia Britannica. Schiff’s view on Wikipedia’s expertise is a little different than Lessig. I got the impression that Schiff is a little more apprehensive about Wikipedia’s expertise because it is free. Anyone can edit an entry with false information. She is concerned in the quality of information that Wikipedia writers provide to the whole world of users.

People share clips, videos, links and stories all the time over Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites all the time. I think sharing such things on social networking sites are so popular is because people can gather information so easily these days. It is also super easy to share the information with others. In the NY Times article, Mr. Arora says “In the past, I may have used this time in the day to read newspapers, magazines or books. Now I have just substituted the same time with ready and sharing news online.” I think may other Internet and social networking users feel the same way as Mr. Arora does. It also mentions in the article “we’ve reduced the fear of missing something important because we share “controlled serendipity” with others and they with us.” Individuals like to hear the ideas of other individuals and share their ideas with one another.

I do not do too much sharing of information with others. If I find something really interesting that catches my eye I will email it or post it on the Internet to share with others.