Friday, December 09, 2005

Frequent Wiki user? Read this

Wikipedia, like Google, has been getting a lot of attention lately. And if you're a frequent Wikipedia user like me, better read this story from the Guardian Unlimited and this one from the New York Times. Both stories tell of how a free encyclopedia like Wikipedia is prone to errors. LISNews has other stories on Wikipedia, too.

I use Wikipedia as a reference source for quick facts but not when I'm looking for in-depth information because I know that most of the entires posted there are not written by experts. I recall a story I read about a Wikipedia contributor who lives in a trailer filled with books in a desert in New Mexico. He writes and edits articles related to the arts and on particular genres and artists. While I admire the man for his passion for the subject, I certainly do not consider him to be an expert on it .

In the New York Times story, Jimmy Wales, the brains behind Wikipedia said that they will be putting in place mechanisms whereby entries would be reviewed and rated for value by readers and experts. I guess this is the best thing Wikipedia can do under the circumstances while maintaining their present system. The last thing they would want to happen is to be called elitist like the Encyclopedia Britannica.

My professional advise: use Wikipedia intelligently, check the facts, and use it as one source and not the only source of information.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Books in print ads

I was going over the book 2005 Gunn Report and Showreel of the Year, a compilation of winning ads in international contests and I was surprised to find print ads promoting books as one of the most awarded ads in print. BTW, there was no winning entry from the Philippines.

The ads were for the Czech National Library and the bookmark reads "READ IT BEFORE HOLLYWOOD DOES" and at the bottom is the organization sponsoring the ad - Association of Librarians of the Czech Republic.

While the concept may not have been the idea of the Czech librarians but for them to spend money on advertising to promote reading is very admirable.

Wish we could do something like this. We surely are not wanting for creative ideas but then there's the budget. Poor budget. If the word would have a life of its own it would no doubt talk back to stop blaming him for inefficiencies and for stifling creativity.