Outlaw Jimmy Wales

In Internet Age, No Story Can Be Held

New York Times  |  Jun 23, 08 7:26 AM CDT

(Newser) - When Tim Russert died on June 13, NBC News held off reporting his death until it had notified the broadcaster's family. But by the time Tom Brokaw announced the news, NBC had been scooped—by Wikipedia, which broke the story 40 minutes earlier. As the New York Times reports, the Internet is ending traditional media's ability to hold a story, for better and for worse. More »

Wikipedia Goes to Print —in German

Associated Press  |  Apr 24, 08 4:55 PM CDT

(Newser) - Wikipedia will soon hit bookshelves, the AP reports: German giant Bertelsmann AG is publishing a condensed print edition of the user-generated encyclopedia. The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia will contain 50,000 of the most-searched-for German entries this year—and it could be the first in an annual series. “A yearbook really can be a documentation of the zeitgeist,” said a publishing exec. More »

China Wikipedia Access Not So Impressive

Ars Technica  |  Apr 7, 08 1:55 PM CDT

(Newser) - It's good for Chinese Internet users that the government has lifted bans on Wikipedia and Blogspot, but the move isn't the great breakthrough it may seem to be. If the policy change was intended to fulfill requests from the International Olympic Committee for an open internet, it falls well short of any actual freedom of information, writes Jacqui Cheng for Ars Technica. More »

New Site Wants Your Wikipedia Rejected Bio

Ars Technica  |  Apr 2, 08 9:45 PM CDT

(Newser) - While Wikipedia may promote itself as an encyclopedia of, for, and by the people, anybody who's had his stint as autobiographer cut short by the infamous "notability" requirement knows the site to be otherwise. Or so hope the creators of startup Biographicon, a website that invites the nobodies of the world to publish their life stories, writes Ars Technica. More »

Wikipedia Weighs Big Questions

Los Angeles Times  |  Mar 11, 08 11:10 AM CDT

(Newser) - Forget dot-com excesses: A piece of printer paper taped to the door and cut-price desks and chairs from eBay and Craigslist are all that distinguish the new San Francisco office of the nonprofit that runs Wikipedia. "We are about as unsophisticated as we could possibly be," its executive director told the LA Times . Facing new claims of impropriety by its founder, Wikipedia is undergoing a crisis of both finance and confidence. More »

Wiki's Wales Accused of Inappropriate Spending

San Francisco Chronicle  |  Mar 5, 08 10:47 PM CST

(Newser) - Jimmy Wales has been hit with allegations that he abused his position as founder of Wikipedia, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A former Wikipedia employee, Danny Wool, has claimed on his blog that Wales used his Wikimedia Foundation credit card for personal expenses. Meanwhile, a former girlfriend released chat transcripts between her and Wales that indicate he edited her Wikipedia entry to remove unfavorable information. More »

Wikipedia Founder to Debut Search Engine

Associated Press  |  Jan 3, 08 7:20 AM CST

(Newser) - Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales will open his new project, Wikia Search, next week. Unlike top search giants such as Google and Yahoo, Wikia Search will use open algorithms instead of proprietary search methods. The new engine will also allow users to contribute to—and ideally improve the accuracy of—search results on their own. More »

Felon Became Top Exec for Wikipedia

The Register  |  Dec 15, 07 6:27 AM CST

(Newser) -  Wikipedia had a convicted felon in one of its highest executive positions for over six months this year, The Register reports. Carolyn Bothwell Doran was on probation for a DUI that caused a death when she became the charitable foundation's chief operating officer in January, says the UK-based web site. She left the Wikimedia Foundation in July this year after another DUI arrest. More »

Google Takes On Wikipedia

CNET  |  Dec 14, 07 4:40 PM CST

(Newser) - The company is developing a collaborative online encyclopedia, called the "knol project," that will allow contributors to earn money by including Google ads on their pages. Google won't edit content, but will give high search ranking to entries it considers high quality, reports CNET. Users will also be able to rate and review articles. More »

Schools Ban Wikipedia

Seattle Times  |  Nov 27, 07 5:38 PM CST

(Newser) - Wikipedia's so quick and easy—too easy, ruled a New Jersey school district, the latest of many to ban use of the popular online encyclopedia by its students and block it on school computers, fearing potentially erroneous information from the communally edited site will pollute minds and papers. “Kids just take it for gospel, they really do,” fretted the librarian leading the charge. More »

Wiki Founder May Take on Facebook

Wired  |  Nov 17, 07 9:13 AM CST

(Newser) - Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is apparently going after Facebook and Google in the social-networking arena, Wired reports. Wales showed slides of his upcoming project during a speech in South Africa, and a tech blogger on hand described it as a "search/social networking hybrid" that incorporates elements of both internet powerhouses. More »

Wikipedia Insiders Launch Competitors

Wired  |  Nov 6, 07 10:41 PM CST

(Newser) - Danny Wool is following on the heels of Larry Sanger, says a Wired profile of Wiki's next-of-kin, becoming a former Wikipedian who's gone out on his own to offer "more accurate" content. While Wool’s Veropedia refurbishes Wikipedia articles, Sanger’s Citizendium quickly jettisoned that approach, declaring them unsalvageable. Both start-ups, however, take measures to combat the unreliability of contributors. More »

Wikimedia Begins '07 Fundraiser

CNET  |  Oct 22, 07 4:49 PM CDT

(Newser) - The Wikimedia foundation, non-profit operator of Wikipedia and related sites, announced the start of its annual fundraiser today, News.com reports. The pledge drive, which will run through December 22, will finance general improvements to the online encyclopedia as well as a planned expansion of the site into geographic areas and languages that are currently underrepresented. More »

Has Wiki Replaced the College Library?

Ars Technica  |  Aug 25, 07 3:46 PM CDT

(Newser) - Contrary to expectations, college students are not rushing online for answers to research assignments. A new survey shows only 3% of undergraduates with research tasks went to Wikipedia first and only 13% tried search engines. The largest number, 40%,  turned to course materials first and 23% sought out the library. More »

CIA, Wal-Mart, Fox News Purge Wiki Entries

Wired  |  Aug 14, 07 1:33 PM CDT

(Newser) - A new data-mining tool has tracked the identities of the anonymous users who make edits to Wikipedia entries—and revealed that Wal-Mart, voting-machine magnate Diebold, and even Fox News have tried to bowdlerize or spin their appearances in the online encyclopedia. And they're not the only ones, Wired reports. More »

Wikipedia: Encyclopedia, Newspaper, or Cult?

New York Times  |  Jul 1, 07 10:51 AM CDT

(Newser) - Novelist Jonathan Dee plumbs the phenomenon that is Wikipedia: First it was a populist encyclopedia, increasingly it's populist journalism, and all along it's been a religious cult, populated by cybermonks working in isolation, often putting in long hours in their bedrooms on school nights. The amazing twist, he notes, is how well it works, getting most things right—eventually. More »

Wiki Twist in Benoit Horror