It's a Wiki World After All

Some neat things I learned today:

*"Wiki" is a noun and Wikipedia is not the only "wiki" out there in Cyberspace, although it seems to be the one to beat.

* You can edit Wikipedia articles without actually having an account or any real expertise on a topic. (However, without an account your computer's IP address will be "public" which freaks me out big time.)

* There is an actual "Wikipedia Day": January 15th, when we can all bask in our communal knowledge and the ability to share it worldwide in many different languages.

* And finally, there is a Canadian indie rock band, based in Montreal, called "Tricky Woo." Obviously no longer just the fictional moniker for a fat, over-indulged Pekingese from the Yorkshire Dales. Who knew?

If I had more time (and let's face it: the interactive Web 2.0 is all about having TIME, lots and lots of TIME, to upload -- or is it unload? -- your "content") I would create a Wikipedia entry (currently non-existent) about my favourite diorama artist, Sloane Tanen. And by the way, if you haven't read her books yet, you are missing out! Check out "Bitter With Baggage Seeks Same: The Life and Times of Some Chickens." It is life-changing. And hilarious.

In summary, Wiki gets a thumbs up from me, especially as a launching off point for research. I use it kind of like I use Google: to find out more about what I am trying to find out about, especially if I've never heard of it before. And you can't beat it for current information. (During the recent Winter Olympics, athlete biographies were updated almost instantly, including cute little olympic medal icons.)

And then there's this marvelous little paragraph from the "About Wikipedia" section:

"One advantage to having amateurs write in Wikipedia is that they have more free time on their hands so that they can make rapid changes, especially when someone dies or if an earthquake or train wreck happens."

Nice to know someone's always on the job!