Top 10 Read Wikis for 2008

Happy Birthday to Wikipedia as they celebrate their 7th year of bringing us the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.  After a quick search for the top 100 articles on Wikipedia in 2008, I found that behind the Main page (#1) and Wiki (#2) there sits Naruto. 
For the uninitiated, Naruto Uzumaki, is a loud, hyperactive, unpredictable adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become a Hokage, the ninja in the village acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all.  That sounds like someone I could empathize with and I dig his hair.

Rounding out the top ten:

1. Main Page
2. Wiki
3. Naruto
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
6. Wikipedia
7. United States
8. Heroes (TV series)
9. Deaths in 2007
10. Transformers (film)

Which brings me to my question of the day...Are any adults (outside of nerds like me that would be checking out the Guitar Hero III page) using Wikipedia? - John Herrington

Comments

[Gannon Beck]

Hi John,

I think Wikipedia is great, and I use it all the time. I'm a firm believer in the open-source concept. Wikipedia is not the be-all-end-all of education, but neither are regular encyclopedias. When doing research, however, it can get you on the right track at the click of a mouse.

Gannon

[John Herrington]

@Gannon - I would agree that it's a great start, but I wonder, in light of these findings, if adults are creating the content and kids are consuming it?

[Paul Herring]

I hear from a lot of people that Wikipedia shouldn't be a trusted source because anyone can edit it. However, anyone who knows Wikipdia understands that if the source isn't referenced (and a link provided) the article gets tag and marked for clean up.

I think Wikipedia is the "Wisdom of Crowds" in action.

[Gannon Beck]

Hi John,

Perhaps kids are more open to trying Wikipedia than adults. Perhaps it just shows that many kids have the same interests so they have the top searches. They may not use it more than adults; however, they may use if for the same thing whereas adults use it for a myriad of purposes. At any rate, as the kids using Wikipedia grow up, the demographics of Wikipedia will grow up with them.

To comment on what Paul said, I've heard an interview recently with Wikipedia's founder where he states that Wikipedia is about as accurate as regular encyclopedias. In truth, both have a small percentage of inaccuracies. The take away from it, at least for me, is not to trust any one source entirely. I've found factual inaccuracies as well as typos in all sorts of books, including college textbooks and Pulitzer Prize winning books. The best approach is to take Francis Bacon’s advice: “Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.”

Gannon