Wikis

Over the years I have googled topics I wasn't familiar with and one of the first URLs to come up was Wikipedia. I thought "Wow, what an awesome resource." It was several months after my first exposure that I found out that it was a compilation of opinions and expertise and that anyone could add or make changes to it.

After that, I stopped relying on it too much as I wasn't sure whether or not the information I was receiving was correct.

For this exercise (23 Things), I searched the term "Cloud Computing." The first thing that came up was a box with a large orange exclamation mark....which is basically a warning. It said:

• This article has multiple issues.
• It contains too much jargon and may need simplification or further explanation. Tagged since January 2011.
• It reads like a personal reflection or essay. Tagged since April 2011.
• It is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. Tagged since April 2011
• In some paragraphs, after certain statements there were the words "Citation Needed". When I clicked on that it took me to the discussion page which contained the following: "To ensure that all Wikipedia content is verifiable, anyone may question an uncited claim by inserting a {{Citation needed}} tag."

It also advised the reader to "exercise caution before relying upon unsourced claims."

When I clicked on the header "View Source" a box with a lock came up stating:

"This page is currently semi-protected and can be edited only by established registered users. "
This doesn't mean that the registered users have any more expertise than anyone else., they just have to create an account, which is free. Wikipedia is trusting that the people contributing to a topic have some knowledge of the subject matter. They also rely on other experts to review posts and make comments or changes where necessary.

So I guess if you read Wikipedia keeping these things in mind it can be a valuable resource. But as with any type of research or quest for information for your own personal enlightenment, it's always best to check out more than one source for your information.