Wow. Perhaps the best article ever to have been picked up by our RSS Feed Readers.
So many quotes, but I'd be filling this up with it if I included them all. Just one:
QUOTE
Google has changed its search algorithm in late 2005-early 2006. I have been monitoring 154 keywords on Google since 1999. Of these, the number one (#1) search result in 128 keywords is now a Wikipedia article. More than a quarter (38 out of 128) of these "articles" are what the Wikipedia calls "stubs" (one or two sentences to be expanded by Wikipedians in the future). Between 7 and 10 of the articles that made it to the much-coveted number one spot are ... empty pages, placeholders, yet to be written! (These results were obtained in early 2007).
Naturally (and sensibly) Sam doesn't reveal what the articles are, but I would suggest that that is pretty accurate. Wikipedia most greatly affects school students at an age where they begin to seriously write reference papers, between the ages of 12 and 18. Teenagers, in other words. At this age students don't yet know how to write quality essays and quality pieces on anything, and they are prone to take shortcuts. Teachers diligently teach how to use Google and other search engines (many teachers also take shortcuts and just teach Google), and lo and behold they are now therefore showing Wikipedia.
Many schools (I don't have figures, but I'd guess about 1/3) now ban Wikipedia from being able to be used as a reference in any school report, some even going so far as to ban Wikipedia from the school computers. But a lot still allow it. And for those that ban it, students can simply go to a Wikipedia article, copy the content, and then use Wikipedia's own references as their references in the project, thus simple plagiarism. Plagiarists R US.
Students of this age don't usually give a shit about whether Wikipedia is accurate or not - all that they care about is finishing their report, getting a good grade, and getting it over and done with. Wikipedia provides the means to do this.
And then after they've done this, then these students learn whatever it is that Wikipedia has shown to them. They then carry this information on as they get jobs, become journalists, teachers, and so forth. And lo and behold HISTORY IS CHANGED.
Many places already have used Wikipedia as a source, and have changed what the publicly accepted version of truth on that issue is. Wikipedia really is a major tool in public opinion.
The real problem with Wikipedia is what will happen in say 5 years' time, when the influential people in the world are all people who went through high school using Wikipedia as a reference for everything? You'd be in the minority if you didn't at least occasionally use it, and many of these people actually edit Wikipedia too.
Even if Wikipedia is completely destroyed in 5 years, its affects will be widespread. People will have a significantly distorted view of events. It is akin to Adolf Hitler's book burning, or Josef Stalin not allowing people in the Iron Curtain to hear about news from the west, or even modern day China not letting anyone inside hear about certain things outside. They are distorting truth.
There may not be anything sinister about Google, or MySpace, or any of the other companies mentioned here. But the thing is that in the end it doesn't matter whether it is deliberate misinformation or simply irresponsibly allowing it. The end result is the same. When these kids grow up with a distorted view of reality, there will be a lot of serious questions that Wikipedia will have to answer for.
Wikipedia - Can Teenagers Write An Encyclopedia? - Global Politician
Google News Wikipedia - Can Teenagers Write An Encyclopedia? - Global Politician Sun 22nd July 2007, 4:38pm
Sun 22nd July 2007, 4:38pm
