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Title: The Wikipedia Revolution

Subtitle: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia

Author: Andrew Lih

Narrator: Lloyd James

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-29-09

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 18 votes

Genres: Science & Technology, Technology

Publisher's Summary:

With more than 2,000,000 individual articles on everything from Aa! (a Japanese pop group) to Zzyzx, California, written by an army of volunteer contributors, Wikipedia is the number-eight site on the World Wide Web. Created (and corrected) by anyone with access to a computer, this impressive assemblage of knowledge is growing at an astonishing rate of more than 30,000,000 words a month. Now for the first time, a Wikipedia insider tells the story of how it all happened---from the first glimmer of an idea to the global phenomenon it's become.

Andrew Lih has been an administrator (a trusted user who is granted access to technical features) at Wikipedia for more than four years, as well as a regular host of the weekly Wikipedia podcast. In The Wikipedia Revolution, he details the site's inception in 2001, its evolution, and its remarkable growth, while also explaining its larger cultural repercussions. Wikipedia is not just a Web site; it's a global community of contributors who have banded together out of a shared passion for making knowledge free.

Editorial Reviews:

Wikipedia is an amorphous entity without any type of command structure. There may be guidelines, but there's no verifiable way to uphold them - hence, the controversy surrounding the phenomenon. Exploring Wikipedia's origins, Lih defends the egalitarian spirit of the site, and Lloyd James's narration is an upbeat affirmation of the author's heartfelt belief in the medium. James hardly ever falters in his prairie-pure tone and diction. Although it may seem that his performance lacks range, it's probably due to the nature of the subject matter - most of the narrative's main characters, despite their undoubted brilliance, just don't possess the kind of personalities that warrant a greater degree of artistic license from a narrator. This is geek-speak, and James's even-toned voice suits.

Members Reviews:

THE STORY OF AN INCREASINGLY-IMPORTANT INFORMATION SOURCE

Author Andre Lih states in the first chapter of this 2009 book, "This book... goes in with a deeper focus on Wikipedia, explaining how it evolved to become the phenomenon it is today, and showing the fascinating commuinity behind the articles and the unique online culture the site has fostered... the book takes on an issue few have addressed, where Wikipedia is going and what its challenges are in the future." (Pg. 12)

He explains, "The tech elite who first developed the Internet believed strongly in the freedom of cyberspace... Wikipedia continues that tradition by being disseminated widely and linked to extensively on the Internet. Its direct rivals in the English language, Encyclopedia Britannica and Microsoft's Encarta, started as paid services... As a result, they are available only to an elite set of users, and have seen their influence and relevance drop over the years with Wikipedia in the same space. In contrast, no one entity owns a restrictive copyright to Wikipedia's content. Companies and individuals are free to copy all of its articles and create derivative works... Wikipedia has evolved from being simply a no-cost alternative into being a superior resource in its own right. Over the years, it has become deeper, broader, and more up-to-date than its traditional rivals. Because of its mission to stay free, it encourages participation...