August 2009

Wikipedia's Content Moderation: Proof that Wikis Work
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wikipedia started implementing its Flagged Revisions policy on Wednesday. Let's consider what this really tells us about the wiki model.

Associated Press to Reign In Web Content
Thursday, August 20, 2009
An article in the Raw Story last week spills the beans on Associated Press plans to centralize their content on the web rather than allowing licensees to publish AP stories on their own web sites. Licensees would print AP stories as they always have, but would have to link to the AP web site for stories that are unique to the AP such as special interest and investigative reporting pieces.

Army Jumps on Board as Government Increasingly Embraces Wikis
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The NYT reports that the Army has started moving its field guides, traditionally written by theorists and strategists, to a Mediawiki site. The goal is to get more real-field examples and experience from active soldiers and consolidate the vast collection of printed field guides into a single source.

Digital Textbooks In California
Monday, August 17, 2009
A story on WBUR's Weekend Edition caught my attention with an alarming fact: the average public school text book costs $100. When is the last time you spent that much on a book? I don't think I have, ever - even in college. The fact was slipped into a story about California's recent vetting of digital text books for use in its public school system, a change that is hoped could save the state $200 million annually.

AmazonFail Prompts the Creation of a Site that Doesn’t Discriminate
Monday, August 10, 2009
After the infamous AmazonFail, when the popular online bookseller was accused of denying GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) books access to its promotional systems, Mel Keegan was prompted to take a closer look at the way GLBT books were categorized and subjugated all over the web.