The internet is dying
It's one of the MSM's most cherished memes: anything that's successful on the web has a "dying" moment. Sooner or later. And now it's the turn of Wikipedia. "Wikipedia 'loses' 49,000 editors" says the BBC today. But the corporation hedges its bets on "loses" by adding the single quote marks. First thing, the story is a regurgitation of last Monday's Wall Street Journal article: "Volunteers Log Off as Wikipedia Ages". Same old. Except that those who managed to get beyond the WSJ headline would have read that usage of Wikipedia is actually increasing.
Second thing, those who understand wiki development will tell you that Wikipedia needs fewer volunteers. What it does need now are more expert volunteers who can improve the accuracy, taxonomy, usability and navigation of the site. It also needs people, not many, who can help it raise the money needed to sustain the content that's already there. The volume of volunteers is no longer important for Wikipedia. Still, the "losing" of editors and the "logging off" of volunteers makes for a catchier headline. The internet is dying. UPDATE: In the Guardian, yesterday, Jack Schofield had a look at the (non) story and concluded, a bit harshly, "Wikipedia doesn't have to care how the work gets done, as long as it gets done for nothing."
