Wikipedia All Day

I can’t seem to get off this Wikipedia topic.  I’ve been depending on it as a pretty reliable source for getting quick information on things I’m unfamiliar with, and since I felt a need to defend the site, I was so glad to read the October 16^th posting, Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Period.

 

Research doesn’t have to be so overwhelming, laborious and time consuming, thanks to the Internet and Wikipedia.  When someone mentions the Baltimore Speakers Series and you don’t know what she is referring to, look it up on Wikipedia and see if it’s up there.  Who knows and who knows what else?  That’s the beauty of this thing.

 

We are all looking for information, and a team effort in the digital world is revolutionary.  Wikipedia is a huge collection of topics, information and links that should be available to all of us.  Sure, there are grammatical errors and other disruptions, but in the big window Wikipedia is a great source and I love it.  Sure, it forces us to look for other resources because of all that “truthiness” stuff.  But shouldn’t we be digging and getting different perspectives from different resources anyway?  I think so.

 

With RSS feeds kicking into high gear, consistently giving information to individuals on select topics, the need to search isn’t so apparent.  But let Wikipedia remind us all that we can’t forget about Google!

 

At the rate we’re moving today in terms of technology, language, medical advancements, etc., it’s about time we develop a public database and work as a team to document a collection of valuable information that’s easy to access and update.  I struggled with Wikipedia’s self-proclamation, “The Free Encyclopedia,” for a long time, but it all makes perfect sense to me now.  Imagine a free encyclopedia that is constantly used, edited, discussed and updated as often as a status changes in the world of Facebook.

Why NC Central University Should Step Up the Wikipedia Game

As an NCCU alumna, I’d like to see my alma mater rise above the stereotypes of Historically Black Colleges/Universities and Wikipedia.  NC Central is a nationally accredited university with one of the best Law School’s in America and an award winning print and online campus newspaper, Campus Echo.  With such a strong focus on community service and a clear mission to prepare students academically and professionally to become leaders, NCCU should definitely step up the Wikipedia game.

 

While analyzing the edits contributed by people who are connected to NCCU, I found plenty of disruptions, including grammatical errors and silly insertions.  Central’s disturbances to Wikipedia stand out since there are only 168 contributions from the school—not many compared to neighboring school, Duke University, which is connected to over 10,000 contributions. 

 

NCCU is a leading, influential university and even though we can’t fully trust the site, Wikipedia should be taken seriously given its popularity.  Tons of people rely on information from Wikipedia, so the site is yet another dimension of learning, a community movement, where good character and integrity win.  Corrupting information on Wikipedia related to the Arab-Israeli Conflict and Decolonization should not be part of NC Central’s agenda because it misrepresents the university. 

 

In fact, it doesn’t appear that NCCU has an agenda regarding Wikipedia.  Even though the school’s page is part of Wikipedia Project University, Project Durham, and Project North Carolina, Central has made no major efforts to get its ‘Start-Class’ rated page up to par.  Only 12 small contributions to the academics, external links, notable alumni and executives sections have been made to NCCU’s page, by NCCU. 

 

Most NC Central contributions to Wikipedia focus on updating the pages of hip-hop and r&b artists, producers and songs.  That’s cool, but thank goodness no one judges NCCU’s priorities based on Wikiscanner evidence!  I felt a sigh of relief when I came across two cases of NCCU edits that removed vandalism/profanity.  I was also impressed with the edits made to Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport since they support Project North Carolina.

 

So, in an effort to make Wikipedia a more trustworthy site and to instill internet etiquette (still a new concept) in all students who attend my alma mater, North Carolina Central University should value its opportunities on Wikipedia and take charge.  The Campus Echo has started an excellent path for NCCU’s credibility online, but I think it’s time for us Eagles to spread our wings.