Let's Work Together

When I was a young school boy, my teachers would always refer us to the Encyclopedia Britannica to do "research" on selected subjects. So off I would go to the library, where I would spend hours poring through entire volumes dedicated to just one letter of the alphabet.

I was amazed that such a thing existed, for this set of books represented everything that was known to mankind. Or so I thought. And for a mere family unit to own one of these exalted sets was pretty much out of the question, for even then a set cost about $1000.

Invariably, though, I would become frustrated with the encyclopedia, because it always seemed to be out of date. After all, life goes on, and new things happen. It would take at least a year for the publishers to catch up, and if the library didn't replace its set with a new one, we seekers of knowledge would be forced to turn the pages of outdated information.

Which is about as enlightening as returning from vacation and reading last week's newspapers.

But that was then, and this is now. Today we're experiencing what is referred to as Web 2.0, the second generation of the internet. (I'll skip by Web 1.0 for now, because its history requires separate blogs.) The buzzword these days is collaboration, and information has become democratized. The users get to write the history.T

ake for example Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that everyone writes. It is a constant work in progress, subject to revision and review by people like you and me. It never suffers from being outdated, because as soon as something happens, people stay up all night composing the latest entries.

Wikipedia has nearly 1.4 million articles in English alone, and has become one of the most frequently cited online resources. Try Googling any topic, and check to see if the Wikipedia article isn't in the top 5 results. It's better than any Swiss Army knife, because it constantly stays sharp, and has every tool you will ever need.

Web 2.0 is all about dynamic content and online community. And Wikipedia isn't the only portal. Consider MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and Digg.

What makes these sites so relevant today is that they are written entirely by the users. MySpace and Facebook are social networking sites (and there are many others as well); users can post pictures, network with friends, and tell their stories. YouTube allows users to upload videos of anything and everything, from silly home movies to documentaries. And Digg allows visitors to vote on news stories they find helpful and interesting (see my homepage for a Digg newsfeed).

And this discussion would not be complete without including the blogosphere, all the millions of personal blogs posted by citizen journalists who are editor, proofreader, and writer all in one. (I have a public blog in which I mirror some of my classroom blogs, so now your family can keep up with what you're reading.) It was in the immediate 911 aftermath that blogging took off, as private individuals voiced their fears, worries, and concerns of the day.

This democratization of information has completely leveled the playing field. No longer are we dependent on a specific source to feed us the information they wish to dispense. No longer must we wait for new volumes to be published. No, we are writing it ourselves, and we're doing it as soon as it happens.

This notion of collaboration is also evident at Current TV, the cable TV channel launched by Al Gore last year. Traditional ideas of programming have been thrown out the window, replaced by "pods" (3-12 minute segments) that are all contributed by viewers. "VC2 (Viewer Created Content) is Current TV's mantra, and it guarantees that those who tune in will see a potpourri of vignettes.

With the unleashing of unfettered information capitalism comes the risk of having too much information. Also attached to this is the risk of inaccurate or misleading information, as well as sabotaged pages (Wikipedia calls it "vandalism"). But these risks are small, because when everyone is allowed to contribute, you have the largest peer review mechanism conceivable. Someone is always looking over your shoulder, ready to rebuke or reprove.

And that sure beats having a frumpy bespectacled librarian peering over my shoulder to make sure I'm not messing up her books.

Dr "Do You Wiki?" Gerlich