Digital Crosstalk

Say Hello to Britannica 2.0

Posted by Brian | Filed under blogging

Back in the 90s most families had a copy of Encyclopaedia Britannica, a CD-ROM that normally came free with their home computer. Back then this was something new, a move from the dusty collection of books within which the world’s information was once contained.

While Britannica safely made the move from the bookshelf to the CD-ROM, it never fully embraced the power of the web and was soon replaced by Wikipedia. Since then Wikipedia and Britannica have battled it out for internet market share, with Wikipedia leaving Britannica far behind picking up the pieces by the roadside.

Each with their own advocates, Wikipedia users are always quick to point out that Britannica’s model is outdated while Britannica users are always quick to point out that Wikipedia’s model is more prone to error.

In fact Britannica has even taken a snap at Google and their decision to constantly display Wikipedia at the top of the SERPs.

Now, however, Britannica has decided to make a compromise.

While they don’t fully agree with Wikipedia’s model, they understand the importance of user-generated content. To combat the ‘error-prone model’, Britannica 2.0 as it has been dubbed, won’t be instantly updated but instead will be checked by a member of Britannica’s editorial staff or a freelance editor before publication.

So is it too late for Britannica? Certainly Wikipedia has taken a vast share of the market, but there may be a gap there if Britannica proved to be more authoritative. Britannica was once the encyclopaedia of choice for many, in hardback and CD-ROM form, and many universities and academic institutions have advised students against using Wikipedia.

Only time will tell whether Britannica can relive its glory days, but no doubt the four century old knowledgebase will put up a fair fight against the Web 2.0 wonder.

Tags: digital