Wikipedia

To start off with, I have always been told never to use Wikipedia because the information is slanted in one way or another it is not a reputable or valid source for research. Since I have always been told this, I have never used Wikipedia while writing a paper of any kind. However, I do occasionally browse the database for topics of interest including Lady Gaga. When I get curious, I go to the website, but I generally end up confused because there is hardly any flow to the articles on the site. I guess you could call me a WikiGnome because when I read the articles, I am constantly fixing grammar, punctuation and spelling but I never actually go into the site to fix them. This is mainly because I have no desire to do so. I am not interested in wasting my time on it. It is not something that has ever interested me. Sure, it is pretty cool that people can contribute to it, but I really don't trust much of what it says even though there are admins who monitor contributions and edits.

I don't think that Wiki can conquer expertise. Obviously, I have always been warned never to use the site, so how can a site that is run by so many people take more credibility than experts? I know that everybody makes mistakes, but I would rather trust a dictionary than Wikipedia any day. However, maybe in the future Wikipedia will grow up and be more favorable and more trustworthy. There is still a lot that has to happen for this to happen.

Many people give up their time mainly for the opportunity to share something that interests them or provides some sort of reward for them or others. It is astonishing the amount of time some people devote to reading blogs and news posts and other various places of information. Personally, I think it is a waste of time. I do not like going out of my way to obtain information. In my point of view, if I am supposed to know about something either I will hear about it, or if I am feeling really curious I'll Google it and look for a website ending in .org instead of .com. Many websites lack credibility and I would rather trust something in print, which is mainly just a forced habit because of previous experience. Overall, I will look something up if it really interests me, but I do not spend 15 hours a day sifting through blogs and other news sources for information to share with others. Seems like a waste of time to me!