Wikipedia Takes on Google and Yahoo with its new Wikia Search
Online Encyclopedia Giant Takes on the biggest search engines in the world
With over 8.2 million articles in over 250 languages and having grown from virtually nowhere in just 6 years, Wikipedia is nothing to be sniffed at. The web based encyclopedia is a great resource for children doing their homework or parents researching technology terminology, a vacation hot spot or even a new car.
Wikipedia is true Web 2.0 because it is user generated, with virtually anyone contributing to the resource; however, it can at times have its downside as on rare occasions unscrupulous characters may write something false, obscene or offensive. In such circumstances, the community usually reacts swiftly making Wikipedia a self-policing resource.
Wikipedia is often compared to the over 200 year old British Institution, the Encyclopedia Britannica which has been a knowledge resource for all for generations; however, the latest set of volumes costs over $1000 and Wikipedia is free.
What about the future of the project?
Wikipedia plans to release a new search engine in December called Wikia Search. The hope being that it will be a successful rival to Google and Yahoo! The plan is for anyone with sufficient programming knowledge to contribute to its development, ultimately enhancing the search experience for the consumer.
In theory ,this could prove most useful and similar to other open-source projects such as Linux, which are continually changing and improving. One might argue [from a business perspective] that Google, being such a large corporation, has lost some of its agility.
Of course the business blogging community should take an active interest in this development. Especially as they can help in the development. The development of Wikia Search will take time and adoption by the consumer is also an unknown. Development will combine human resources for ranking sites as well as computer ranking and it is possible the mix will provide a formidable search experience in the future.
Contributed bysupport@kineticknowledge.com
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