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NewsWikia, Wikipedia's For-Profit Spin-Off, Lays Off 30% of Its Staff

Posted 10/21/08 at 03:42:59 PM by Paul Lilly

Maximum PC readers (and anyone with an internet connection) are undoubtedly familiar with Wikipedia, the free online community-based encyclopedia with topics ranging from modern art to the history of vomiting. But what you may not realize is that a for-profit spin-off exists that continues to try and strike gold on the coattails of Wikipedia. But instead of being a cash cow, founder Jimmy Wale's is scrambling to save what might be a sinking ship.

Citing an un-named tipster, ValleyWag.com reports the 43-person company has laid off 30 percent of its staff, or almost a third of its employees. Word on the web is that Wikia is suffering significant losses in cash, in part because of offices located in San Francisco, New York, and Poland. It also doesn't help that potential cash makers like Wikia Search have proved unpopular, and without another $14 million cash infusion from investors like Bessemer Venture Partners and Amazon.com, Wikia might not be long for the web.

Comments: 3
TAGS: wikipedia, job cuts, layoffs, wikia

NewsWikipedia Wants to Publish a Book with 90,000 Authors

Posted 07/27/08 at 11:01:13 PM by Paul Lilly

In what would typically be a publishing nightmare (and might still be), Wikipedia announced it will attempt to make history in print publishing by creating a book with about 90,000 authors, which would rank as the most credited individual authors ever. To help them do that, the online encyclopedia has partnered with German publisher Bertelsmann, and the two of them will set out to create a single-volume print encyclopedia containing 25,000 of German Wikipedia's most popular articles.

Set to go on sale in September for around $32 USD, The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia will have a credits page that runs 27 pages "in a dense layout -- it's a page full of names, separated by commas." One of those names will be Theodore Kaczynski, otherwise known as the Unabomber. All 25,000 articles will be short in length running no more than a few paragraphs each. But will they be factually correct?

Comments: 3
TAGS: windows, Software, wikipedia, Research, book, publish

NewsGoogle Takes on Wikipedia with Knol

Posted 07/23/08 at 06:49:34 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Google has just made a new addition to its bouquet of internet properties. Its answer to Wikipedia, Knol, is now in open beta. Unlike Wikipedia where every author has no choice but to be self-effacing, Knol keeps the author in the foreground and well in control of his/her work. It will solely depend on an author whether he wants his Knols to be accompanied by ads – of which he will be a beneficiary – and if he wants to heed a call for modifications or edits to his article.

Knol also allows authors to collaborate on a certain article if they so desire. The media hasn’t really received Google’s announcement of Knol all that well as it fears that Google’s search engine results will be biased towards Knol.

Funnily and ironically enough, it seems to be more of Google’s own version of the quintessential information-centric website or online content hubs - that promise authors a share in adsense revenues - and less of a Wikipedia rival.

Comments: 3
TAGS: Software, Internet, Google, wikipedia, knol, adsense

NewsWikipedia Tests Approval System to Reduce Page Vandalism

Posted 07/19/08 at 10:46:41 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Wikipedia tests approval system on German-language site

Wikipedia is famous for being the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of so-called "Wikipedia vandalism," where the reputations of people past and present have been blackened by bogus entries in their Wikipedia pages. To help reduce vandalism, Wikipedia is now experimenting with flagged revisions on its German Wikipedia site, which is apparently a hotbed of vandalism. When pages are changed, a checker must sign off on the changes to a page before they are posted.

How big a problem is Wikipedia vandalism? How do we know that the checkers who approve pages can be trusted? And what do Wikipedia fans think about all of this? To find out more, join us after the jump.

Comments: 1
TAGS: Security, wikipedia, vandalism, information, Wikimania 2008

NewsWarning: Wikipedia May Be Hazardous to Your Research

Posted 06/24/08 at 02:11:00 PM by Paul Lilly

According to Wikipedia, Scotland occupies the northern third of Great Britain and shares a land border to the south with England. Looking at a map confirms this. Wikipedia also indicates Scotland consists of over 790 islands with a varied flora incorporating both deciduous and coniferous woodland. All true and not a bit slanderous. So what's Scotland's beef with Wikipedia? Read on to find out.