How Wikipedia Solved the Knowledge Gap: Andrew Lih at TEDxAmericanU

• published: 24 May 2014
• views: 213

Andrew Lih is an associate professor of journalism at American University in Washington, DC, and author of The Wikipedia Revolution: How a bunch of nobodies created the world's greatest encyclopedia. He is a noted expert in online collaboration and digital news innovation and founded the web-based city guide NY.com in 1994. He has degrees in computer science from Columbia University, where he helped start the School of Journalism's new media program. He is a contributor to the weekly PBS MediaShift podcast and has been a speaker at South by Southwest (SXSW), the Online News Association, Wikimania and Wikisym. How Wikipedia Solved the Knowledge Gap Filmed by Ford Fischer and Justin Parker Edited by Ford Fischer Wikipedia has created millions of articles in over 200 languages, making it the greatest reference work in the world. But the "encyclopedia that anyone can edit" is even more astonishing in how it fills a human knowledge gap that, until recently, was seen as unsolvable. By organizing and explaining information faster than ever before, it is a persistent, constantly updated, peer-produced, working draft of human history. Andrew Lih explains the implications of solving the gap, and why it's vital for Wikipedia's future survival. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)