Edward
Bartender
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- 25,082
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- London, UK
That survey, however, was done five years ago. It'd be interesting to see how well it stacks up today. Someone in one of the articles on the demise of Britannica suggested the longer Wilkipedia goes on the more unqualified people become involved with it -- "One qualified person alongside twenty teenage idiots is the same thing as twenty-one teenage idiots."
Well, that's the thing. For what I have used it for in the past myself, I find Wikipedia to be an excellent resource, but it is certainly far from perfect in every area - plus, the nature of the beast is such that we have no guarantee of accuracy. I would never accept it cited as an academic source (though that said, when used in a relevant way as a primary research material, it can still be relevant). This is where brands like the EB will find their long term niche: among those prepared to pay for the guarantee that a trusted brand brings with its content.
EB is more a Time Out guide, while Wikipedia accessed via a tablet is the nearst thing we'll ever see to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Don't forget this important piece:
"Encyclopaedia Britannica will focus primarily on its online encyclopedias...About half a million households pay a $70 annual fee for the online subscription, which includes access to the full database of articles, videos, original documents and to the company’s mobile applications..."
Now I'm accused of being a Luddite about 6 days a week...and yeah, it's kinda true. But what happens when a an electromagnetic pulse knocks out all computer technology on a bad day? Or when a tyrannical government censors the internet? Or eletricity can't be easily obtained? Just sayin'...
A business which relies on the availability of its content will have all sorts of backup and storage contingency plans already in place at all times. Anything that knocks out the web entirely (remember the nature and design purpose of its Arpanet forerunner....) will leave us all in a situation where access to an online ecyclopaedia is the least of our worries.... Government ensorship is finding it harder and harder to stymie the web. These days, my bigger concern is the unaccountable censorship by voluntary industry bodies or corporations such as Apple.