Archive for January 27th, 2008

Wiki’s and Mass Collaboration


ZDNet.com is currently running a series of posts on a book called “Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything“; and if the descriptions in their posts are any indication, it’s a phenomenal work.

The case studies presented are absolutely extraordinary and encapsulate the power and speed inherent in the new web. Ordinary users, previously relegated to the role of information consumer only 10 years ago, are now being afforded the right of information provider, interpreter, critic and commentator - and they are doing it en masse.

A case in point from the ZDNet.com article is the period immediately following the London Bombing in 2005, when a new entry was created in Wikipedia:

“On July 7th, 2005, minutes after the bombs went off in London, an entry describing what was known at that moment (not much, admittedly) appeared in the Wikipedia. Within an hour, several hundred people had contributed content, research, or editing skills. 24 hours later, 2,500 (that’s twenty-five hundred) people had produced a 14-page article more comprehensive than any single newscast or newspaper had been able to provide. (Indeed, the news outlets themselves began using the article for background.)”

The level, complexity, and speed of collaboration on this post is staggering. This 14 page article emerged in 24-hours and featured the contributions of 2,500 people; none of whom were paid a cent. Yet somehow, they all converged on the same virtual location to successfully write, edit, research and discuss a single article without the whole affair descending into chaos.

How is un-orchestrated collaboration on such a massive scale even possible?

What is equally incredible is that, with 2.2 million articles in their English version alone (as of this post), Wikipedia has maintained similar levels of voluntary participation for years.

In doing this, the Wikipedia community has singularly shown not only that mass collaboration is possible, but that it can take place on an ongoing basis for an extensive period of time.

However while this provides 2.2 million examples to illustrate such collaboration is possible, what it doesn’t provide is an explanation of how. After all, Wikipedia is not the only website on the Internet that is driven by the contributions of a voluntary user base. Unfortunately countless wiki’s of similar beginnings have not fared so well.

As ZDNet.com indicates, the true numbers are difficult to measure:

“The problem with the public wiki phenomenon is that you only hear about the winners. The losers–the empty wikis that will never be filled–seldom make the news. It’s hard to judge how many failures there are, though the open source movement may provide a clue: For every screaming success (like Linux), there are numerous open source projects that languish, forgotten.”

The range of potential outcomes on a collaborative wiki project is vast. So how then do you set about inspiring a framework that nurtures a community spirit such as the one present in Wikipedia - or can you? How much of a project’s success or failure is due to planning, implementation and work, and how much is blind luck or coincidence?

Is it possible that in seeking to pinpoint the essence of user generated content and mass collaboration, we are destined to miss it; and that the reality is much more intangible, esoteric and fragile? Or is there a quantifiable mixture that, when concocted, produces desirable and predictable results which can be replicated?

This is one of the many questions I have which I will continue to research and document throughout the lifespan of this blog. Experiences and comments are encouraged.

References:

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

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Net Neutrality: Initial thoughts


This blog is as much a research tool for documenting my own discoveries and developing thought processes as it is a vehicle for presenting my established and well-considered opinions. Therefore you will at times see posts covering subject matter I am not familiar with but am seeking to learn more about

Net neutrality is one such topic. In this emerging discussion there are vocal parties on both sides of the fence, and arguably a tremendous amount of spin doctoring. So much so that I’m currently having a great deal of trouble distinguishing fact from fiction.

Therefore what I intend to do is research this topic from an objective academic perspective, assessing both sides of the argument, thereby gaining a holistic perspective on the discussion. In the end I will undoubtedly arrive at a conclusion and opinion on where I sit in the scheme of things; but in order to have an informed opinion you must first be informed.

In the first paragraph of its article, Wikipedia discusses net neutrality:

“Network neutrality (equivalently “net neutrality”, “Internet neutrality” or “NN”) refers to a principle that is applied to residential broadband networks, and potentially to all networks. Precise definitions vary, but a broadband network free of restrictions on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, on the applications that may use it, the modes of communication allowed, and where communication is not unreasonably degraded by other communication streams would be considered neutral by most observers.”

My research into this matter will expand and evolve over time, and I will be listing future categories in a specific Net Neutrality category.

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

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