I apologize to all of you who faithfully come here to read about the VanNoord’s adventures and misadventures in China. Over the past 18 months, I have dutifully limited myself to that topic. I know that you don’t come here for commentary on current geo-political events. But as I open my Yahoo news feed and see that Qaddafi is about to become the latest dictator to fall from power, I can’t contain myself.
I have a friend –a librarian- who is steadfastly anti-Wikipedia. I get that. Part of it stems from the fact that she feels her traditional role as a guardian of information is threatened by something like Wikipedia. We have had some great chats about both the merits and shortcomings of Wikipedia. I understand that Wikipedia is not an acceptable tool for student research, but holy cow is Wikipedia amazing. First, the sheer volume of information is astounding. Second, I am always surprised how accurate, organized, and balanced the information is. I go to other sources, but somehow I always end up back at Wikipedia.
In theory, Wikipedia shouldn’t work. Anybody and everybody able to add or edit content? That’s crazy talk. On paper, it’s the most convoluted idea ever. But in reality, it works and works well. Sure, there are a few shepherds and a few referees, but essentially, there is no one in charge. It’s grassroots; ground-up; amorphous. It inverts the pyramid of knowledge and power. It’s nothing short of informational anarchy. Man, is it beautiful.
One day, right in the midst doing verbal battle with yet another anti-wikipedia-ite, it dawned on me that the whole world breaks down into wiki and anti-wiki forces. There are those people throughout history who have embraced this type of de-centralized, power-to-the-people phenomenon and those who have been scared witless by it.
The American Revolution? British versus Colonists? Nope. Wiki versus anti-wiki forces. The British wanted to regain centralized control over the colonies; the rebels wanted to retain control over their destinies and continue their experiment in self-governance.
The Protestant Reformation? Essentially, wiki verses anti-wiki forces. The Roman Catholic Church and its hierarchal power structure wanted to retain control over the people and religion and access to God. Luther and the gang wanted to establish the priesthood of every believer thereby doing an end-run around all the gatekeeper and high priests of the Christian faith. They sought to devolve religious power downwards and locate it in its most basic elemental unit: the individual.
Tiananmen Square, June 1989? Wiki versus anti-wiki forces.
And thanks to the new media, the wiki-fication of history continues. Gone are the days of the anointed few at ABC, NBC, and CBS who function of the arbiters of news and information. Hello, CNN, 24-hour cable news, and the internet.
Although they're kicking and screaming, the days of Sony, Universal, and other big music cooperation are numbered as content producer and content consumers connect directly with each other without the gatekeepers of all-things musical dictating to us the music to which we have access.
And of course there is the wiki-fication of . . . well, Wikipedia. Information has gone global, viral, and grassroots. Encyclopedia Britannica, may you die a quick and painless death.
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