2. INTRODUCTION
What is Wikipedia?
• Open
• Transparent
• Decentralized
• Democratic
• Global

3. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that many college students have
relied on for it‟s vast library of information, is famous for its transparency and
openness. One may even go as far as calling Wikipedia a democracy. A site
where anyone can edit its pages, contribute new information, expand on ideas
and spread them throughout the globe. Wikipedia is a treasure trove of
information for everyone, as this fluid site covers various topics which would
spark an interest, from everyday people to professionals in their field. Yet, how
can a site as open and decentralized as Wikipedia hold onto it‟s democratic
elements?
I myself, am a big supporter of Wikipedia. I find it a great instrument to
gain better understanding of a topic. I can spend hours on hours researching a
new program, artist, or technique. I have added information to Wikipedia, little
facts that may have been forgotten, or obvious ones that went unnoticed.
College students find that Wikipedia is the straightforward way to have a better
grasp on a school subject, yet many are tempted to use it as a main source,
without examining other sources of information such as books or articles.
Plagiarism and Wikipedia are two things that seem to always come hand in
hand. In this brief presentation, I will examine the ways in which Wikipedia can
be seen as an example of a democracy on the internet, how it spreads
information across the globe. I will also discuss how such openness can lead to
problems that affect the way we process information.

4. WHAT WE WILL BE ADDRESSING
• Positive aspects of Wikipedia
• How Wikipedia works as a Democracy
• Negative aspects of a Democratic
Wikipedia
• Scholarly opinions on the subject

5. POSITIVE ASPECTS
User Generated
content
• For well being of the
community
• Out of sheer interest/
love for a subject
• Global collaborative
project

6. SPECIAL INTEREST WIKI’S
• Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia!
• Bulbapedia: everything you need to know about
“Pokemon!”
• Lostpedia: delve into the world of the hit series
“Lost”

7. Wikipedia is not the only online collaborative effort to spread and
catalog information. One example would be Wikileaks, a site setup to
spread government facts or hidden acts that would otherwise have gone
unnoticed by the masses. Wikileaks makes it possible for whistleblowers
and activist to have an effect on corrupt governments. This is a great
example of a democratic process on the internet, like minded people
gathering across the globe to work on changing the status quo. As well,
there are special interest Wikipedia like sites. Two of my favorites would
be “Lostepedia,” dedicated to fans of the program Lost. Another,
Bulbapedia, catalogs all the artwork, information and stats for the
program “Pokemon.” there may be a special interest wiki site for any
number of topics.

8. DEMOCRATIC?
Wikileaks: exposing corrupt and unethical
actions by Government. A safe and secure
place for Whistleblowers to expose secrets to
the public.

9. POSITIVE ASPECTS
• Elect what information stays on the site
• Popular and important subjects are explored in further detail,
with multiple sources, links and pages.
• Decentralized:
No one group can lay claim to the power and influence of
Wikipedia.
• Information is spread on a global scale
Underdeveloped areas given the same information as the
rest of the world.
• Money removed from the equation
Wikipedia works on a donation based system.

10. SYNERGY
defined as two or more things functioning together to produce a
result not independently obtainable.
• A global community joining together to create a fluid and ever
changing index of information.

11. GESTALT
Die Gestalt is a German word for form or shape. It is used in
English to refer to a concept of 'wholeness„.
• Shadow with no figure/ source
• Symbolic configuration of shapes

12. GLOBAL COLLABORATIVE
User Generated
content comes
together democratically
to form a symbolic
entity, Wikipedia, on
the internet.

13. CLAY SHIRKY
• Author of “Here Comes Everybody”
• Coined the term “digital Natives”
• Internet is a tool for complex
interactions, working together to
create great things.
• “Big things done not for money, but
for love.”

14. A feature that marks the democratic element of Wikipedia would be the
power of collaboration. Participation can be seen through collaborative efforts
aimed to capitalize on the power of the large group. This generation has come to
encompass the power of the internet in their social lives. Growing up with the
internet readily available to this generation, the “digital natives” as Clay Shirky
refers to them in his book “Here Comes Everybody,” have come to adopt the
internet as a tool for complex interactions with others. Domains like Wikipedia
have come about due to the influx of user generated information and data that
benefits the entire community. From it‟s inception, Wikipedia has remained
decentralized, and no one source can lay claim to the it„s power.
As Shirky states in “Here Comes Everybody,” “We have lived in this
world where little things are done for love and big things for money. Now we
have Wikipedia. Suddenly big things can be done for love.” Thousands of people
have collaborated on expanding articles, from science to mathematics to
television programs and more, without every gaining any compensation. Sure,
there are those who manipulate pages for a laugh or out of spite, but this shows
that people have an interest not only of spreading knowledge to those who
cannot access it, but that of being part of a global community, or like minded
individuals who have a common interest. In a democracy, people collaborate in
ways that benefit the entire community.

15. LARRY SANGER
• Co-founder of Wikipedia
• Critical of Wikipedia
• Memorization unnecessary/ individual
learning outdated/ making books inferior

16. NEGATIVE ASPECTS
• Used as a main
source
• Unreliable
• Open to abuse
• Open to manipulation
• Money matters
• Multitasking problems
• Plagiarism

17. But there are complications with having large archives such
as Wikipedia decentralized and flexible. With it‟s openness comes the
susceptibility to attacks and abuse. Any person can alter the HTML
code found on Wikipedia. It‟s fairly easy to change, and will remain on
the site until somebody notices the alterations. Yet, what if it is not an
ordinary person making the changes? People trust the material they
find on Wikipedia to be reliable and unbiased, when in fact most of the
time we are not given any sources. The contributors who have a
biased opinion on a subject, who use a mixture of original and
unchecked facts, can impede on the democratic process by using one
sided arguments or stating facts without credible sources on these
information based websites.
Government officials, marketers, they are all able to access
Wikipedia as anyone else. The level in which information can be
manipulated becomes staggering when there is money or public
opinion involved. Biased facts are also a cause for concern on
Wikipedia. Many people can take what they read on Wikipedia for a
fact, and never know the sources behind it. How often does one check
the sources for an article? People trust the material they find on
Wikipedia to be reliable and unbiased, when most of the time we are
not given any sources.

18. MANIPULATION
Special interest groups with something to gain from
false information can manipulate data on Wikipedia.

19. SELECTIVE
• Administrators and select
hobbyists on Wikipedia
make editing and
contributing to the site
difficult.
• Nicholas Ciarelli of The
Daily Beast: Wikipedia
run by an In-Crowd.
• Dull information as to not
offend.

20. CONCLUSION
• What have we discussed during this
presentation?
Positive aspects of a democratic Wikipedia,
negative aspects. Shirky, Langer, Nicholas
Ciarelli article.
• Positives: open, democratic, transparent,
decentralized
• Negatives: abuse, manipulation, selective,
unreliable

21. If Wikipedia were to lose it‟s openness and become
centralized, users would lose transparency, as dirty secrets of
political figures will be placed in the shadows. Next, creativity
will be stifled as content will be restricted on a pay to play
basis or worse. Finally, Wikipedia will be treated as a
commercial marketplace to profit off multitude of people
looking to gain knowledge on a daily basis. Collaboration of
socially responsible users, as well as international law
governing the well being of the internet, the democratic
process of Wikipedia can be preserved for future generations.

22. Thank You!

23. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Geiger, R. Stuart (2007). Democracy in Wikipedia. The University of
Texas at Austin.
• Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody: The power of organizing
without organizations. New York: Penguin Press.
• Ciarelli, N. "The Myth of Wikipedia Democracy." The Daily Beast. The
Newsweek/Daily Beast Company LLC. 28 Nov. 2009. Web. 2 Dec. 2011
• Sanger, L. "Individual Knowledge in the Internet Age." EDUCAUSE
review vol.45, no. 2 (2010): 14-24
• Shirky, C. "Gin, Television, and the Social Surplus." Cognitive
Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. New York,
Penguin Press 2010.
All images gathered from Google Images, Wiki-Commons.