The unpaid army behind Wikipedia
On today’s show, we learn about the culture of the site that’s driving print encyclopedias out of business. Wikipedians are the subject of a new book by Joseph Reagle called “Good Faith Collaboration: the Culture of Wikipedia.” Reagle is a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Reagle says the idea of a massive collaborative storehouse of knowledge is not a new one (you could trace it back to H.G. Wells, Pliny the Elder, and many others) but current technology and culture has made it possible for Wikipedia to grow and thrive.
Reagle also fills us in on the philosophical rifts within the Wikipedia community, especially among those who want to more broadly define requirements for having a page versus those who want to be more restrictive.
Also in this program, we’ve been told that 59 percent of Americans will be checking their work email over the course of this holiday weekend. We ask people from our Twitter Team how much they plan to stay in touch.
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