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Contribution to Book
Wikipedia’s Success and the Rise of the Amateur-Expert
Social Software and the Evolution of User Expertise: Future Trends in Knowledge Creation and Dissemination (2012)
  • Christopher A. Sweet, Illinois Wesleyan University
Abstract

The Free Online Encyclopedia, as Wikipedia called, is a radical departure from traditional encyclopedias and traditional methods of knowledge creation. This chapter explores how a community of amateurs on Wikipedia has challenged our notions of expertise in the 21st century. It does so by first looking at the roots of Wikipedia in a phenomenon known as the “wisdom of the crowds” and in the open source software movement. The reliability of Wikipedia is examined as are the claims of major critics of the project. Throughout, epistemological questions raised by Wikipedia are addressed.

Publication Date
2012
Editor
Tatjana Takseva
Publisher
IGI Global
Citation Information
Christopher A. Sweet. "Wikipedia’s Success and the Rise of the Amateur-Expert" HersheySocial Software and the Evolution of User Expertise: Future Trends in Knowledge Creation and Dissemination (2012)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/christopher_sweet/20/