When Jimmy Wales opened up his encyclopedia website to a passionate community of fans, he transformed a struggling business into the world’s largest knowledge bank. But what can the rest of us learn from Wikipedia?
WORDS BY David Mattin | ILLUSTRATION BY Chris Martin
sk Jimmy Wales about to help them keep track of the plot. to the staggering growth made possible the meaning of open, So here you have the producers of a by openness, it’s also proof that such and he’ll talk to you mainstream entertainment product openness does not have to come at the about the TV show collaborating with their audience to expense of quality. As early as 2005, Lost. More specifically, help produce future episodes. That’s a study by Nature magazine found about the community of super fans unimaginable only a few years ago. that a selection of Wikipedia’s science who, since Lost first aired in 2004, We’re amid a revolution in participatory entries were as reliable as those in the have collaborated on an encyclopedia media, which has huge implications for Encyclopaedia Britannica. about the show. The ‘Lostpedia,’ which organizations of all kinds.” sits inside Wikia, the lesser known of When Wales pronounces on these o: Openness works. But Wales’ two wiki projects, now contains subjects, people listen. That’s no don’t think that’s the end over 4,500 articles covering every surprise: His status as modern-day of it. Wales believes that episode, character, and plot-twist. And prophet of digital openness is secure the revolution Wikipedia within it, says Wales, lies a lesson in thanks to a certain online encyclopedia helped spearhead is only where we are and what the future holds. that you, along with half a billion just beginning. “I love Lost, and the Lost wiki is one others, probably use regularly. “People want to participate, and of my favorites,” he says. “The fans who Wikipedia, co-founded by Wales and that’s only going to grow. But there’s write these articles want to explain the Larry Sanger in 2001, now contains so much more to come,” he says. show to the world. And they’ve done a over 22m articles, and latest Comscore “We’re going to see new kinds of great job. numbers put monthly users at 490m. sharing and collaboration online. Not “In fact, a while back we heard that While the site – written and edited just text but, thanks to increasing the show’s writers use the Lost wiki entirely by its users – is a testimony bandwidth, video, too.
THINK OPEN 33 “Whoever you are, all this has huge implications: For messaging, marketing, design. How do you engage with your customers now? Even if you’re a traditional offline business, you can think about an open web presence and a more open process. It’s not When Wales and Sanger started an enough anymore just to put a comment offshoot community, Wikipedia, that section on your website. It’s about dispensed with the top-down editorial letting your customers collaborate control, user numbers went off the with you to do cool, fun things. There’s chart. Amateur enthusiasts queued still a lot to be learned about what this up by the thousands to write on subjects new age means.” from the Muppets to Munchausen’s while policing standards. Though And everyone, says Wales, should by proxy. anyone can write or edit articles, a start learning. Indeed, anyone that “It turned out that we had the right team of around 1,500 administrators doubts the importance of this emerging initial idea about people: They’re social, – elected by the community – have age of openness need only look to the they want to create. But Nupedia was special powers to reverse edits, lock story of Wikipedia. the wrong model. With Wikipedia, we pages, and settle disputes. Meanwhile, The website grew out of another unlocked people’s passion. That was the a small team of ‘bureaucrats,’ also Wales project, Nupedia, a more difference. It was a learning process all elected, acts as final arbiter. traditional encyclopedia that used along,” he continues. “We didn’t know There are clear lessons, says Wales, expert contributors and conventional where the balance was between how for any organization seeking to create peer review. “Nupedia had a top-down open we could be and how controlling an open online presence. “It’s a mistake structure, which included a seven- we needed to be.” to think that the choice is between top- stage editorial process,” explains Wales. Today, though, Wales has time- down control and anarchy. Openness “We’d started with the idea that there tested answers on that front. The site doesn’t mean anarchy. You have to were lots of smart people online who has evolved a model that combines create social norms that people will want to share their knowledge, but it radical openness with an underlying follow, and that means providing wasn’t working.” social structure that maintains order guidance and a structure.
THINK OPEN 34 “With Wikipedia, it’s definitely of a traditional, sales-based business not a case of, ‘Hey, do whatever you harnessing the powerof openness. want, it’s all fine.’ The community has For years, Star Wars fans have been certain values now – on neutrality, for making their own film tributes, using example – that are core to the brand. characters from the original movies. Some were put in place at the start; Since 2002, Lucas has awarded an others have evolved over time. It’s annual prize to the best, making a living, breathing thing, and we’ve certain stipulations about their nature learned that we need to be open to – no nudity or graphic violence – change as we discover new problems and providing a library of music and and new solutions. What stays the sound effects to help. It’s textbook use same is our commitment to an open, of openness according to the Wales consensus-based decision model.” model: Invite participation, provide a framework and some tools, reap rue, the relevance of the rewards. fostering participation and “You can imagine a totally different building communities are way of dealing with fan films, which is more immediately apparent to start suing these people for copyright for online businesses: After all, infringement. Instead, they’ve under- community members are only ever one stood that every new fan film makes click away from becoming customers. new fans for the entire franchise. You’ve But Wales cites George Lucas’ Star got to realize that the people who want Wars franchise (which sold $510m to collaborate with you are also the of toys in 2010) as a great example ones who are going to go out and get others excited about you.” Openness, then, means finding a way to draw these people – Wales calls them ‘influencers’ – to your organization.
THINK OPEN 35 His key advice for anybody just starting country, so I’ll outsource the work to them to come together and create cool out? Remember that openness has to a lower cost country.’ Crowdsourcing new things?” start from what your customers want, is the logical extension of that: I’ll The Lost wiki and OfficialStar Wars not what you want from them. outsource the work to the public and Fan Film Awards are just two examples “I dislike the word ‘crowdsourcing’ get it done for free. But, of course, of that empowerment. “If you’re because I think it turns the whole people don’t want to work for free. thinking that way, then you’re going to problem of how to foster openness “You need to go at it from the opposite find the better problems to solve, and upside down in a bad way,” says Wales. direction. Where are communities of you’re much more likely to get results. “Crowdsourcing comes from the word people who are passionate about what These people are out there, they’re ‘outsourcing.’ Outsourcing is about I’m doing, and what are they trying already interested in you, and if you do saying, ‘I have some work I want done, to do themselves? What tools can the right thing they’ll be happy to help I can’t afford workers in a high-cost I give them to help? How can I empower you. You just have to listen to them
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