Wikipedia

I've been using Wikipedia since it was released, and have downloaded and used Mediawiki for 4 years now as well. I love the idea of wiki's, and have used quite a few different programs including a good 12.8% of the software listed on this list. There are some nice features on some of them that make the better suited for different functions, like home use or sales. I liked the Ruby driven for global "ToDo" lists for (by use of a ToDo tag you could put on any page, and see all items on the "ToDo" page) as well as the Mind Map feature it has.

But, as they've never said, "Home is where the Data lives" and Wikipedia has it. Because of that, we all have to live with Mediawiki and it's way of doing things. Or do we? I've been thinking about creating a Firefox plugin for Wikipedia that will remix the page to include a live history on the page. (Click below to see the goal documentation for my Firefox plugin idea)

Do a search over at Wikipedia for list of common and you'll find some interesting articles. I was really enjoying List of Common Misconceptions, and I had to share it. So I did a search for "list of common" and found lots of really amazing lists. Wikipedia is also good for looking up current TV shows, with things like List of Merlin Episodes and The Office

Also, I love how random and eclectic the list is. Where else are you going to get Common Misnomers and bean diseases in the same list? Why a list of lists, of course!

If the newspapers and websites aren't cutting it for you, I've found that Wikipedia often has amazingly comprehensive articles about on going issues. Global Financial Crisis of 2008 is Wikipedia's good history of what's been happening to the financial markets recently. It is divided in weeks, giving the details that emerged that week, as well as government reactions at the time. For a larger overview, check out the Wikipedia entry for the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 Also, the chart on this page on CNBC is giving a running total of the cost of all parts of the bailout. Right now it's at $7.9 trillion, for the U.S. Government.

Click below to read my thoughts on the new form of consensus building via Wikipedia, and the social science possibilities of studying a fully archived conversation that leads to consensus.