Learn about Web 2.0, HTML, XML, and more with this cool video

I just found this today. I will definitely be using it next time I am teaching me e-business class, right before (or after) I discuss HTML, XML, and the Web 2.0 environment.

Wikipedia vs. Citizendium: Let the battle begin!

Citizendium, an alternative open online encyclopedia, has gone live. It was created by Larry Sanger who happens to also be a Wikipedia cofounder. The two encyclopedias share a lot of similarities. They are both free to read and open for anyone to edit. They are also both ad free. However, Citizendium requires contributors to use their real names while Wikipedia doesn’t. And Citizendium will go to experts for verification of its articles, while Wikipedia will not.

 I won’t debate the latter difference. I am always a little suspect of “experts.” Maybe it’s because I work in academia and I see how many times “expertise” is just misguided stubborness.

But the real-name-use rule is interesting. There is a plethora of research on the effects of anonymity in computer mediated groups. The results are not always consistent but some trends have emerged. For example, anonymity in such groups promotes flaming, the act of posting hostile and insulting messages that are often long and rambling. Flaming can be done by group members that would not otherwise engage in it if they weren’t anonymous. Anonymity can also increase group polarization. Both findings would favor Citizendium.

However, anonymity also increases the number of original ideas (though not necessarily the quality of the best idea), partly because it allows everyone to contribute, even if they are disagreeing with the majority of the group. This may favor Wikipedia, especially since it sometimes allows for multiple articles on a topic, if it’s one that is controversial or is subject to interpretation.

By requiring real names, Citizendium promotes accountability and responsibility which is a good thing. But it also may silence many contributors who may have important knowledge but are reluctant to provide it under their real name. Citizendium does allow one to apply for a pseudonym, but only in special cases.

Who will win the encyclopedia battle? I don’t know. Only time will tell. My bet is on Wikipedia. It has the momentum, the experience, and the brand name to attract enough contributions to sustain it. And despite the room for vandalism and malicious content, it allows everyone to add information without fear.

But Citizendium has definitely made this battle more interesting.

Wikis: They’re not just for encyclopedias anymore.

Business Week has a great special section on Wikis this week. For the uninitiated, Wikis are basically online collaboration tools that allow multiple users to collaboratively create and edit documents. It’s how Wikipedia works. But Wikis have made huge inroads within companies. The possibilities are endless. For example, a software development company can allow its developers to develop and test code through a wiki. It can also allow its team of remotely based technical writers to write the software documentation. One article in BW’s special section talks about many other examples of large corporations implementing Wikis for internal purposes.

But why stop with employees? Why not let the customers do the work? This is nothing new. Companies like Microsoft have successfully used forums and bulletin boards to allow their customers to help each other with all technical issues. Personally, I have always had better luck getting help from such online forums than any company’s technical support team. So, a Wiki can allow the customers to basically build and edit a knowledge base, one that isn’t organized in the form of questions and answers in long complicated threads, but in the form of self-contained articles. eBay has been trying this with eBay Wiki. The beauty of Wikis is that all the information created is never static. It’s constantly alive and changing to (hopefully) reflect the changes in the world it describes. To borrow a metaphor from biology, the information becomes the organism and the users who create and edit it become its adaptive cells.

Of course there are those who say it’s not going to work. That there’s too much room for vandalism and unscrupuplous misuse. But the same can be said for email or even the telephone. As a technology becomes well integrated with the social norms, regulations, and culture of an organization, it becomes less and less misused. Maybe it’s the fact that employees realize that everyone is collectively better off if the technology is used appropriately. Maybe it’s because organizations develop clearer guidelines and sanctions for misuse. Whatever the reason(s), the result is the same. So, let Wikis grow and use them as much as possible. Soon, there will come a time we won’t remember how we worked without them.

Yes, it works!

So, Wikipedia has announced that it will now check the degrees and background of its contributors who claim to have advanced degrees. This is in response to the news last week that one of its contributors and administrators, known as Ess-jay, who claimed to have been a tenured professor in Catholic studies was actually a 24-year-old guy with no such credentials.

Following the revelation, there was a lot of “I told you so”s and “see?”s out there. Those who poo-poo the idea that a collective intelligence knowledge repository could ever work had their proof. Only the experts can provide knowledge, they said, because an open system like Wikipedia allows too much fraud (never mind the fact that those “experts” can be just as fraudulent anyway).

But to the naysayers I say this. The revelation of the fraudster was exactly the reason why Wikipedia and all collective intelligence knowledge repositories work. They are self-correcting. An open knowledge and information environment means that fraudulent information will be exposed. Ess-jay was exposed when he was hired by Wikia.

There’s actually a bigger lesson to be learned here, one about companies managing their brand/reputation/image by releasing more information instead of controlling the information that’s out there about them, but that’s for another day…