Happy Monday!

Alrighty, today we will be making sure everyone is on track for their Wiki-work and answering any questions regarding what's due.

Also, time permitting we will talk about professional on-line work and even a few insider secrets.

Possible topics:

• About.com
  
• SEO
• Engadget vs. Gizmodo
  
• Syndication/RSS
  
• Monetization: Advertising, Sprinks/adsense, Affiliates
• Penny-Arcade, Google, DealSea

as well as any questions you may have

Wikipedia cheat sheet

For those of you who are looking for a quick guide to formatting:

• Wikipedia formatting guide
• Wikipedia cheat sheet (more condensed version of the above)
  

More helpful guidelines

Here are some more helpful links to guide you in your Wikipedia editing.

• Wikipedia policies and guidelines
• Wikipedia basic rules to follow
• Wikpedia guidelines, useful things to consider
• Wikipedia featured articles: see what a good Wikipedia article looks like

Last-leg schedule

Just as a heads up, here is how I see the rest of our schedule working out.

• Week 12 March 24, 26 - Minor wiki edit due
• Week 13 March 31, April 2 - Major wiki edit due (major points!), new wiki topic idea due
• Week 14 April 7, 9 - New wiki post due (first draft on the 9th, final draft on the 14th)
  
• Week 15 April 14, 16 - Writing fiction
• Week 16 April 21, 23 - First draft of fiction due
• Week 17 April 28, 30 Finals Week - Final version of fiction due

10 Wiki-mandments

Here are your Wiki-mandements for this section:

1. Correct grammar and spelling, correct problems you see
2. References, where did you get this information from?
1. cite sources within text, i.e. foot/endnotes
2. Sources that are personal opinions/blogs are not 'reliable' sources - information not opinions should be cited, use quality sources
3. Links to other pages of relevance/references/wikipedia articles
   
4. Keep the post and pictures on topic, be careful about copyrights
   
5. Read what other people have posted, do not contradict rather correct, read the history, don't repeat mistakes
6. Keep a neutral point of view
7. Avoid using "jargony" words, or define if necessary
8. NO ORIGINAL RESEARCH!!!
9. Wikipedia is not a place for personal gain, not a soapbox/advertising forum
10. Wikipedia is not a social network, not for personal information
11. Wikipedia is not a dictionary, definitions can happen in the context of an article, but should not be articles

optional commandments:

1. Thou shalt have no other wikis before the Wikipedia
2. Thou shalt not covet other's great articles
   

On your mark(s), get set...

Today we will discuss your commandments in groups, pick our favorites, and see if we can come up with a class list of Wiki-mandments (ugh, so cheesy, I know).Then we are off to the races.

For Wednesday create a post with the entry you are editing (notice the present tense) and try your hand at it. We will share experiences, articles, and tips on how to edit the Wikipedia on Wednesday. So, please not only have your article picked, but start editing it.

As a requirement, see if you can bring "research" to the Wikipedia article, as opposed to just editing the current text. What can you contribute at this point?

In your post briefly blog about the experience, along with the link to both the article, and a history page of your edits. We will use this as a jumping off point for our conversation.

Wednesday will be all about works in progress, so be sure to get a jump on that editing!

Wiki Rules

Today we will be discussing a recent wiki-controversy, as outlined in the previous post, and taking a look at the articles you found and want to talk about.

We also will be moving forward on our own writing from research. In order to do this, we need to set forth some ground rules. The Wikipedia has its own set of guidelines, but many of the most important seem to be unspoken.

For the Monday after break, I want you to create a list of 10 Wikipedia commandments. After reading their guidelines, and a few Wikipedia entries (any topic will due, so long as it has seen several authors hands) you should start to notice what some of them are. Many of them become explicit when you read the discussion sections of an article, and some are more "organic."

Please, as much as possible, find example for your commandments. Perhaps this is best done through links. I also want you to feel free to write commandments that you think ought to be followed, even if you don't see them currently enacted in the community. Thus, a couple of your commandments might be suggestions for improvement, rather than current standards.

Finally, be prepared to talk about how these rules provide "good research." What in the world is good research anyway?

So, for the monday after break (aka Sunday 10pm) have two posts. First, the article you wish to edit, and some thoughts on those edits, second a list of 10 wiki-mandments.

Chris Benoit - Wrestling With the Wikipedia

The video above, and articles below are not only fascinating, but also point to one of the missing pieces of the Wikipedia vs. Encyclopedia vs. Knowledge debates... the real time (or future-time) synopsis of events that otherwise would not be written about (or at least not in this format).

• Chris Benoit Wikipeida Article
• The Wikipedia Controversy

Does this at all challenge what we have spoken about in regards to the Wikipedia? Does this make it more or less a reliable source of knowledge?On a related note, the public mourning and memorializing of the Benoits is something that could only happen in a Web 2.0 world.

• Nancy Benoit Tribute
• Chris Benoit Tribute

Catsup

Today we will cover the content that we missed from the previous class session:

• Research+Community
• Truth in Numbers

Class Canceled 3/5

There will be no class today. I just received a call that there has been a death in my family and I am going to try to fly to California.

I will do what I can to be back for Monday the 10th, but it will depend on funeral arrangements.

In the meantime please finish up your snapshot essays and the evaluation of your peers snapshot essays. Remember to read the three below you, if you wish you can do the five below you, more input is always better.

You can explore the topics listed in the post for today. I will let you know about Monday as soon as I do, but for now, let's plan on having class.

Thank you for your understanding,
Roger

Truth in Numbers: The Wikipedia Story" - Trailer

Wikipedia = Research+Community?

We've picked apart knowledge and research quite a bit. We've discovered that it is contextual, that it is constructed, and that it attempts to be persuasive. We've also hinted that it is communal. That is what we are going to explore next.

Today I want you to take a few minutes to find a Wikipedia article that you a) find interesting and b) know quite a bit about.

We will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of said articles together in class.

For Monday you will need to post a link to that article (or a new one of your choosing) along with a plan to update it. We will go over them together in class... I think you can see where this is headed.

Also you must read (whole page + interesting links): About the Wikipedia

• London Bombing Time Lapse (1:42)
• London Bombing Article Today
• Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica
• Nature on the Wikipedia: Accurate?
• Debates on the Wikipedia
• Hacking the Wikipedia
• Got any others we should look at? Post 'em in the comments