Welcome to #Monmouthpedia

Monmouth bridge & gatehouse

Wikipedia, on its blog, has unveiled the first Wikipedia town - the historic town of Monmouth. Over 1,000 QR codes have been placed on every landmark, building, and business, enabling residents or visitors with a smartphone to call up information about that location in 25 languages. Wikipedia reports that, "Because of Monmouth’s efforts to provide free wi-fi ... the town is likely the only place where a visitor can tour in Hungarian, Hindi, Indonesian, Welsh, or numerous other Wikipedia languages using QR codes."
   Why was Monmouth chosen for this project? Perhaps because it has a lot of history: King Henry V was born there, there's a Norman castle built in 1067 and a rare 13th Century bridge and gatehouse.  Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said, in a report in the Independent, that "he was excited about the project. Bringing a whole town to life on Wikipedia is something new and is a testament to the forward-thinking people of Monmouth ... I'm looking forward to seeing other towns and cities doing the same thing."  Is it a coincidence that Monmouth is in Wales?

The joy of discovery with an encyclopedia and an #iPad

Discover for the iPad

Since Encyclopedia Britannica announced yesterday that it was stopping its print version after 244 years the news media I read online have been full of comments like this one:
   “Not surprising but still very sad. I always loved going through the copies we own and see what page I will find something I would have never thought existed. It was always a bit of an adventure to say the least."
   Everyone seems to assume that the pleasure of randomly coming across an article in Britannica cannot be replicated with Wikipedia, but it can. There's a lovely iPad app called Discover by Cooliris that is designed to encourage just this sort of random discovery. When Discover is launched, it displays a front page featuring a random Wikipedia topic in a friendly magazine style. If that topic doesn't interest, shake the iPad and a new topic is displayed. Clicking a topic brings up more details and related content. If you're want to search for something specific all of Wikipedia is available to you. It's a great app that encourages exactly the sort of chance encounters with fascinating stuff so many of us remember enjoying as kids on a rainy day.

Encyclopedia Britannica halts print publication after 244 years

This is a big news story - 244 years is a long time by anyone's measure. Wikipedia, and let's be honest it's what has replaced the Britannica, was founded in 2001. So, just over a decade later it's major competitor stops its iconic print volumes to concentrate on digital. Good luck with that. Why would anyone pay for access to an encyclopedia when Wikipedia is free, has more items (way more) and covers them in greater depth?
   Oh, you say because Wikipedia is full of errors, whereas those guys at Britannica are paid to get everything right. You're going to be disappointed then to learn that there are lots of errors in Britannica and moreover once they are identified fixing them is hard - impossible if you own a print version. Wikipedia has an entry called, “Errors in the Encyclopædia Britannica that have been corrected in Wikipedia” that lists some notable “mistakes and omissions.” The Wikipedia entry says:
    “These examples can serve as useful reminders of the fact that no encyclopedia can ever expect to be perfectly error-free (which is sometimes forgotten, especially when Wikipedia is compared to traditional encyclopedias), and as an illustration of the advantages of an editorial process where anybody can correct an error at any time.”
    Wikipedia and its rise over Britannica features in Chapter 11 "Web 2.0" of The Universal Machine.

T minus 5

T minus 5 and counting. The manuscript is being delivered to the publisher on Friday so I'm into the final week and the final revisions. I've been sourcing copyright free pictures for the book and once again Wikipedia has been a godsend. Nearly all of their images are under a Creative Commons licence or in the public domain and the copyright is very clearly explained for each image. That is so useful as it means my publisher can be certain they're not infringing anyone's copyright. Sourcing dozens of images legally would have been a nightmare before Wikipedia.
    Probably the most amusing is one of a young Bill Gates; he's posing for a police mugshot taken in Albuquerque, New Mexico police in 1977 after a traffic violation. Gates looks like he's really enjoying himself in the photo. Perhaps he's thinking, "my father's a wealthy lawyer." Check it out on Wikipedia.