January 16, 2007 11:56
Category: Writing
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Often time comes in a writer's career that he/she finds it tough to write anything on any subject. Call it writer's block or simple fatigue from daily routine, there's no denying that it is difficult proposition to maintain a creative stance all the time.
This happens to every professional in every discipline, and there's no reason why it shouldn't occur to writers as well. Yet for all we know, making ends meet is a necessity we can ignore only at our peril. And so the question comes, "What do you write when you can't write?"
If it seems a paradox, so it is. Not a surprise that since much of our lives is a paradox itself. So what would you do if ideas do not come to your mind and words fail to flow from fingers.
In situations such as these, Wikipedia is a great help. The what? Well, Wikipedia is a great source of information, a wealth of resource that never ceases to surprise.
A writing assignment I've done some time back is about providing small biographies of some 1000-odd personalities. The place to look for information, my assigner tells me, is the venerable Wikipedia. The job requires me to refer Wikipedia day in day out, and I'm overawed more than ever by the richness of resources it offers.
Prior to this, I did have on occasions peeks at it, but those were mere skimming the surface. The more I now dig into Wikipedia, the more I become convinced that there's no other resource quite like it, not perhaps even the ubiquitous Encyclopedia Britannica. When my son's school asks him to do his project work with the help of Wikipedia, I know for sure it is the numero-uno place for serious information-seekers. Little wonder then that it is the 17th most visited site globally.
What it is that is so enticing about Wikipedia? It doesn't need my telling, for I'm sure my readers will have pretty good knowledge about it. Instead, I'll focus on some lesser-known aspects that, put together, speaks a lot eloquent about it.
Wikipedia has over a million articles in English language alone, the total of which represents just about one-third of total contents. It caters to at least 48 languages, each of which having not less than 10,000 articles.
Wikipedia depends on some 2000 to 3000 strong core community that has taken upon itself to voluntarily maintain and improve it. It's they who do most of new content addition in English as well as corrections and modifications of existing matter as needed.
Necessarily an open source venture, Wikipedia does not earn revenues from any ad-network. It does not display any ad on its pages, which is quite remarkable, because if it does so, it will not need to depend on voluntary contribution, which is usually around $50 to $100 each.
Wikipedia's budget is modest compared to the volume it caters to and the service it offers. Its 2005 budget was $750,000 and in 2006 it was something like $1.5 million, a clean 100% jump. But that without doubt is required because it wants to find ways to improve quality of contents that is better than Britannica, and of course add more and more fresh contents. Besides, there may be other revenue-generating plans. For example, extracting articles on request from its repository to be sold in print or DVD/CD.
The one factor that is truly worth watching is how its contents stand up on contentious issues. This is where neutrality emerges out of pushes and pulls of the community members. So be it Iraq War or the infamous World War II holocaust, Wikipedia has them all with no scope for circumventing the truths. Just this quality makes it the most unique one can imagine and a treasure-trove of information hunters (or, shall I say truth-seekers) worldwide.
By now, if you think Wikipedia has to be a big organization, you are mistaken. For all that it offers, apart from Jim Wales, the founder, Wikipedia reportedly has only 4 more full-time staff on its rolls, a CEO, a manager and 2 programmers, one in US, the other in Australia. Quite a feat that for a site fetching close to 48,000 visitors everyday, don't you think?
How will it help you? Just go there and search for information on a subject you intend to write about. You may be in for a surprise as you see Wikipedia unfolding it from its vast repository.
Read the materials, and who knows a bright concept may already be germinating in your mind waiting to be spoken on.
Updated, 26 April 2007:
In a new nationwide study in US, the research body Pew Internet & American Life Project has found that more than a third (36%) of all American adults (men: 39%, women: 34%)consult Wikipedia for any reference. And on one wintry day this year, as many as 8% of online Americans consulted Wikipedia. The study can be seen here. (View Details)
