Wikipedia or Wiki is a famous free online encyclopedia, which has more than 36 million articles in 250 different languages. Currently, it has become the largest and most reliable source of information on the internet. Ivan Konovalov, the Semalt Customer Success Manager, says that English Wikipedia alone has over five million articles and is the sixth most visited website on in the world. Before Wikipedia’s creation, the largest source of knowledge was the Yongle Encyclopedia, which is said to contain 22,935 manuscript rolls. When Jimmy Wales set up the website in 2001, Wikipedia’s original version was available to everyone on the net. Today, it has over half a million people visiting Wikipedia’s pages on a monthly basis. More than 80,000 volunteers edit its pages regularly, and numerous people have never known the internet without Wikipedia that is linked to other websites and blogs in a large number.
Teachers, researchers, journalists, students, and medical professionals depend on Wikipedia because the information placed on this site is always accurate. We can search almost all topics on this encyclopedia, and the experts have used its data for predicting things from blockbuster films to the stock exchange rates. With time, various writers and editors have come forward and edited Wikipedia’s pages in multiple languages. Civil servants, politicians, actors, and all types of people use it as the primary source of information on the internet. Even the former IBM head who made over 47,000 edits of the words ‘comprised of’ calls Wikipedia the best website ever.
Unlike Google, Facebook and Apple, Wikipedia is not a profitable internet giant. For instance, Apple Inc. has recorded the best and biggest annual profit in the corporate history and has won the loyalty of global clients because of its refined services and products. On the other hand, Wikipedia has always been the no-frills and sparse website with lots of articles published every day. This volunteer-driven encyclopedia operates as a major non-profit organization in the world, which exists due to the donations from the global community. Wikipedia has always set new records and has introduced new ideas of advertising through its sponsored pages and links.
Although Wikipedia creators don’t seek any profit, it has disrupted the arrays of business models and social media in recent months, ranging from school education to the publishing of articles. Wikipedia is often accused of destructing the economic models, and it is guilty of removing the outdated data and giving space to updated information.
It’s important for Wikipedia to focus on accuracy and it has to stay relevant for all ages. No doubt, Wikipedia has transformed the way we search articles on the internet, but it still has lots of flaws. Adapting to the mobile technology should be its priority since lots of people use mobile devices to access the internet. If Wikipedia wants to achieve the desired goals, it should make itself accessible through all devices and in all languages. In just fifteen years, Wikipedia has become the best and biggest collaborative effort of humanity.
