The day Heath Ledger died, the Wikipedia article about him was updated with the words "This article is about a person who has recently died." Underneath these words were more words: "Some information, such as that pertaining to the circumstances of the person's death and surrounding events, may change rapidly as more facts become known. In the event that this article is disruptively edited following the death of the subject, please request administrator intervention on this page." These words are gone now, and the Heath Ledger article has officially been edited to read in the past tense.
Charlton Heston is another actor who has just passed away. Those same words, as of right now, are still posted above the Wikipedia article about him.
Clicking on the words "a person who has recently died" will lead you to a comprehensive "list of notable deaths in 2008." A typical death entry includes the following information: "Name, age, country of citizenship and reason for notability, established cause of death, reference. "
The last Wikimania Conference was held in Taipei, Taiwan. "Wikimania is a regular conference for all Wikimedians that contribute to one of the many Wikimedia Foundation projects." The 2008 conference will be held in Alexandria, Egypt, at Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The official name of the conference is "Wikimania 2008 Alexandri :: Change the shape of wisdom."
Change the shape of wisdom...How appropiate, because that is exactly what Wikipedia has done, for better or for worse. I argue, for better.
If you are at all skeptical about the infamous free enclyclopedia known as wikipedia.org, this blog is for you. If you are at all inclined to believe that the world is entering a postmodern era, this blog is for you. If you were already aware of all the random facts about I gave about navigating Wikipedia at the beginning of this blog, then this blog may still be for you. If you were an active Wikipedian, then this blog is definitely for you, and I crave all feedback, positive or negative. If you have ever attended Wikimania, then please, we need to have a conversation!
The point is that Wikipedia really is changing the shape of wisdom in today's world, and many members of today's world are finding themselves in a postmodern society. This blog is going to be an account of my explorations through the World of Wikipedia. It should be an exciting and riveting journey, as I hope to prove to myself and the rest of the world that Wikipedia is the new shape of wisdom, and this is not a bad thing!
I'm already a believer, and I hope my journey convinces you to believe as well.
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