... with the notion of Wikipedia even though I use it more than ever before and find it more useful than I ever imagined. (I also have an online subscription to the Encyclopaedia Britannica in order to allay my concern for me and my school-age daughters -- and we find that very valuable.) I've "joined" Wikipedia and have been impressed by the process I see "under the hood." But beyond the reliability of the tool is the interesting model that created this work.
In a recent article published by Wharton, there is a report on a recent presentation at the school by Anthony D. Williams, co-author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything.
As a public relations professional, I've been very interested in this model and have enven pointed to some potential issues with it before on this blog. Afterall, if the general public can participate, then I can too and I can make a pretty good case for my authority (but not my objectivity) to contribute to an article on Wikipedia on behalf of my clients. And then there's the story out of Los Angeles Times that the recent Doritos contest for amateur television contests was almost taken over by advertising professionals.
Consider this a fair warning and probably completely obvious. (I have a flair for the obvious.) Some folks are much, much better at manipulating social and communication venues on behalf of themselves and as an agent for others. And we really, really will. And some of us will even do it in a transparent and fair way.
