The Next Ten Wikipedias
Inspirations for future innovations.
Wikipedia is a remarkable resource, giving billions of people access to information in almost 300 languages. It is among the most frequently visited non-Chinese websites, trailing behind just a few of the biggest commercial sites such as Google, Youtube, Facebook, and Amazon. This astonishing success is due to an innovative open social structure that invites contributions from millions of authors and editors. The most devoted Wikipedia volunteers work intensely to create informative pages for general audiences, while developing effective governance policies and processes.
However, the Wikipedia story also reminds us that even for virtuous projects there are malicious actors who will vandalize the site or use the platform to promote lies, distortions, and conspiracy theories. Every web-based open project must deal with such threats by developing strong security while preserving privacy, guaranteeing accessibility while preventing bullying, and ensuring diversity while respecting cultural differences.
Brief History
Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger launched Nupedia in 2000 as a centrally managed online encyclopedia with volunteer contributors of articles that were peer reviewed and then posted. This strategy worked poorly, so in 2001 they converted to an open project, which they called…
