The other week I decided to order “The Wikipedia Revolution” by Andrew Lih after I heard Leo Laporte talking about it in his speech on journalism in today’s world. After reading the book, I would have to agree that this book is an awesome resource for anyone looking to get more information on Wikipedia.
Even though much of the book is focused on the online wiki-based encyclopedia, Lih gives your brain a stroll down memory lane by telling you the history of the wiki software and how it came to be. There’s also discussions about the GNU licensing and the idea of a “copyleft.”
One of my favorite chapters would have to be about the origins of a wiki in which Lih talks about the invention of Apple’s Hypercard technology that allowed hyperlinking between electronic documents back in the late 80s.
As someone who’s heard about, but wasn’t around to experience Nupedia, Hypercard, and Usenet, Lih gives a general overview of the technologies, how they came to be, and the role they played in structuring “The World’s Greatest Encyclopedia.”
This book is a joy to read and provides a lot of background information into the inner workings of Wikipedia. Plus, you can pick up a copy of the book for only $10 on Amazon — quite a steal in my opinion.
