Results matching “use of wikipedia and”

Now German speakers don't need a computer to look up something on Wikipedia. Major German publisher Bertelsmann, whose divisions include Random House Inc. and Sony BMG, is publishing "The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia," a collection of the most popular German language Wikipedia entries.

The project is not meant to be a re-creation of the site in book form, but rather "as an attempt to harness the collective wisdom of Wikipedia's users," according to Bertelsmann.

"We think of it as an encyclopedic yearbook," Dr. Beate Varnhorn, the editor in charge of Bertelsmann's reference works said. "A yearbook really can be a documentation of the zeitgeist."

There are more restrictions in a printed version: Wikipedia online features hyperlinks that takes a user from topic to topic, but a reader of the printed version will have to manually get to different entries. Whereas the German version of the website has more than 750,000 different articles, the 992 paged printed version will have 25,000 articles with about 1,000 photographs.

On the other hand, a staff of 10 condensed and verified the online material, so that the printed version will be an accurate, credible source.

Varnhorn is optimistic because of Germany's "strong encyclopedic culture." She hopes to especially target a younger audience.

There will be entries on French first lady Carla Bruni, Nintendo Wii, and German writers and musicians.

"The approach of 'Wikipedia in One Volume' is to give the people the information they are looking for," Arne Klempert, the group's executive director said, contrasting that approach to "the process of publishing a traditional encyclopedia put together by a select group of people behind closed doors."

"This is the most important difference from traditional encyclopedias," he said. "It's also an important thing in that the sense of the Wikipedia spirit will go into this printed volume."

If the 2008 version is successful, there is a possibility of other editions. The printed Wikipedia will go on sale in September for €19.95, or $31.80. Bertelsmann will pay €1 per copy sold for use of the Wikipedia name, which will support the site's operations, according to Klempert.

Source: New York Times, Yahoo News

Are blogs becoming more influential than The New York Times’ website? A study carried out by the San Francisco-based Long Now Foundation found that among 2007’s five most important news items (in the US), blogs were ranked higher in Google searches for four of them.

The issue was first raised five years ago when Dave Winer, one of the creators and pioneers of blogging, contended that of the “five words or phrases representing the five most important news items of 2007, blogs would rank higher than The New York Times’ website.”

The five main news items in 2007 were picked by the Associated Press, including the subprimes crisis, the Virginia Tech shooting, Iraq war, price of oil and Chinese exports. Except for the subprimes, blogs ranked over the Times website in all cases.

Based on a similar study with a different methodology, Workbench writer Rogers Cadenhead still found that blogs were more popular three times out of five.

“Instead, our most trusted source on the biggest news stories of 2007 is a horde of nameless, faceless amateurs who are not required to prove expertise in the subjects they cover,” concluded Cadenhead.

However, is an outlet’s popularity equivalent to its overall effective influence – linked to credibility of sources? And while both popularity and credibility are correlated, the results don’t necessarily mean that blogs are a more trusted source (granted, they may receive more hits) than traditional media. In fact, recent studies point to the opposite conclusion.

As noted by Cadenhead though, Wikipedia seems to be the biggest winner of Winer’s bet, as the online community encyclopedia now regularly ranks among top results, whether for news or other subjects.

Source: Pisani blog - Workbench

In an increasingly web-based culture of knowledge, it’s perhaps no surprise that websites like Wikipedia.org are now being consulted by credible news sources. Since it’s launch in 2001, Wikipedia has gained notoriety from its entirely user-contributed and edited online encyclopedia.

The Wall Street Journal, for example, has referenced Wikipedia on a piece it featured discussing “turducken” (a bizarre concoction in which a chicken is stuffed into a duck that is stuffed into a turkey). While some critics have judged this sort of Wikipedia usage as un-journalistic, others note, where else would you get information on a turducken? Certainly not from your standard encyclopedia.

However, as a result of its user-generated articles, many news and scholarly organizations immediately write the site off as “false” and “unverifiable.” For example, Mike Leary, managing editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, recently sent an e-mail to staffers forbidding the use of Wikipedia to “verify facts or augment a story.”

Even the French Agence France Presse banned its reporters from using Facebook and Wikipedia as sources, reported a previous Weblog posting.

Wikipedia’s leadership appears more than aware of the site’s strengths and potential shortcomings. The site features numerous disclaimers, one of which reminds users that "anyone with an Internet connection" can alter the content and cautions, "please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by people with the expertise required to provide you with complete, accurate or reliable information."

Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, suggested that despite these warnings, more journalists are daring to test out the site.

"I think that people are sort of slowly learning how to use Wikipedia, and learning its strengths and its weaknesses," he said. "Of course, any reasonable person has to be up front that there are weaknesses... On the other hand, there are lots of sources that have weaknesses."

Wales thinks the encyclopedia's best journalistic use is for background research rather than as a source to be quoted, the American Journalism Review reported.

The Los Angeles Times has adopted a relatively open stance on the usage of Wikipedia sources. Melissa McCoy, the Times’ deputy managing editor in charge of copy desks, explained that the paper occasionally allows Wikipedia references.

"We're certainly not going to use Wikipedia as a stand-alone news source, but we're not going to exclude it if it takes us somewhere," she said. "If a reporters spots something in there and it makes them do an extra phone call, it's silly not to use it,” McCoy suggested.

With opinions on Wikipedia usage in newsrooms remaining mixed—with most opting to steer clear of the site—papers like The Wall Street Journal and the
are demonstrating that some journalists are discovering the value of the site as a roadmap for further research.


Source: ajr.org through cyberjournalist.net

Kaioo, the first non-profit “real social network on the Internet,” was launched in Beta two months ago. Unlike commercial social networks, its idealistic interest goal is to build a communication tool for users, said founder and CEO Thomas Kreye.

Agence France Presse banned its reporters from using Facebook and Wikipedia as sources last week, as news organizations still struggle to safely use online (re)sources.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has launched Wikia Search today, a search engine that allows members to rate results and improve the relevance of search results for other users.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales plans to launch Wikia Search &#160, an open-source search project, on Jan. 7. Wikia Search will aim to eventually compete with the established search engine giants.

Search giant Google, after Wikipedia’s success, is about to launch its own online encyclopaedia, “Knol”.

While delivering this year's Hugo Young memorial lecture, Bill Keller, the executive editor of The New York Times gave a stern warning that the supply of reliable news is severely declining, despite the increase of information on the Web.

Jose Antonio Vargas of the Washington Post examines Faye Anderson, a prominent citizen journalist, in order to examine citizen journalism, what exactly it is, the credibility issue, and where citizen journalism stands in the future.

In the online media world where choice is unlimited and generating content is on a level with consuming it, newspaper websites are faced with enormous competition. How to solve this problem? Why not offer tools known as widgets that create a branded presence that potential readers can integrate into their daily web habits?

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales plans to launch Wikia Search in December, to eventually compete against automated search giants such as Google and Yahoo. The concept seems sound but it’s hard to imagine at this point that Wikia could become a real rival.

For centuries, news in newspapers was restricted to the physical pages of the paper, giving rise to the phrase, "All the news that's fit to print". It is well known that this is no longer true on the Web where there is virtually unlimited space for publication of content. But one Wikipedian went a step further to show how much his favorite encyclopedia actually demonstrates the publishing freedom that the Internet provides.

In a recent interview with I Want Media, Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, explained many of the changes occurring within the paper and the more generally, his vision for the future of the newspaper industry.

According to Nielsen//NetRatings, the encyclopedia site Wikipedia is the top news and information destination on the Internet, gaining 20 million unique monthly users in the past year.

In a recent interview between wired.com and Craig Newmark, founder of craislist.org, keys to the success of the site, Newmark’s thoughts on journalism, and a customer service philosophy were discussed, offering potential advice to the newspaper industry. 

A new book, The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture and Assaulting Our Economy by Andrew Keen challenges blogs, citizen journalism and social networking sites, saying that they destroy culture and create “digital narcissism.”

A new Accenture survey reveals that 57% of media executives see user-generated content as a challenge, however, a Hitwise survey showed that, judging by the still-low percentages of users creating content, traditional media should be able to catch up.

In this section, John Zogby, CEO of Zogby International, and Jeff Jarvis, new media proponent and founder of Buzzmachine, comment on the results of the Newsroom Barometer. Both found that editors’ optimism and open-mindedness to new media was a clear indication that newspapers were embracing the digital revolution, yet Jarvis fears that may not be enough…