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googleblog.blogspot.com - 10/27/2008

Official Google Blog: Introducing Google Earth for iPhone

— googleblog.blogspot.com — Even before we introduced Google Earth back in 2005 , the team had long dreamed of being able to carry the Earth around in your pocket. Well, today that dream becomes a reality as we introduce Google Earth for iPhone and iPod touch. With just a swipe ... (more) Official Google Blog: Introducing Google Earth for iPhone

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Google Earth

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valleywag.com - 10/20/2008

Wikia lays off 30 percent of staff [Layoffs]

— valleywag.com — Bid goodnight to Jimmy Wales's dream of cashing out on Wikipedia, the world's largest collection of infrequently asked questions. The vehicle for his scheme, a derivative for-profit startup called Wikia, is imploding. A tipster tells us that the ... (more) Wikia lays off 30 percent of staff [Layoffs]

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Bessemer Venture Partners

Amazon

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radar.oreilly.com - 10/27/2008

Network Effects in Data

— radar.oreilly.com — Nick Carr's difficulty in understanding my argument that cloud computing is likely to end up a low-margin business unless companies find some way to harness the network effects that are the heart of Web 2.0 made me realize that I use the term ... (more) Network Effects in Data

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Wikipedia

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Why free-riding doesn't apply to some online collaboration
Boing Boing — ... it's essential that most participants "give back" in order for the collective effort to succeed. The concept of "free riding" emphasizes the fact that traditional offline institutions expect and require reciprocation from the majority of their members for their continued existence. A church in which only, say, one percent of members contributed financially wouldn't last long. Neither would an airline in which only one percent of the customers paid for their tickets. The Trouble with "Free Riding"

An Illustration of Wikipedia's Vast Human Resources
Freedom to Tinker — The Ashley Todd incident has given us a nice illustration of the points I made on Friday about "free-riding" and Wikipedia. As Clay Shirky notes, there's a quasi-ideological divide within Wikipedia between "deletionists" who want to tightly control the types of topics that are covered on Wikipedia and "inclusionists" who favor a more liberal policy. On Friday, the Wikipedia page on Ashley Todd became the latest front in the battle between them. You can see the argument play out here. For the record, both Shirky and I came down on the inclusionists' side. The outcome of the debate was that the article was renamed from ...

Free Riding Isn't A Bug, It's A Feature
Techdirt — ... In response to a similar question, concerning all of the "free riders" on Wikipedia, Tim Lee has done a fantastic job explaining why the whole concept of the "free rider" problem is a myth in most of these scenarios. In the case of Wikipedia, for example, all of those "free riders" who don't contribute are actually what makes it worthwhile for the smaller group of contributors to take part. Those "free riders" aren't a negative: they're the audience. If you set up the model right, then any free rider actually becomes a part of the solution, not the problem. ...

Wikipedia as a Public Good
Freedom to Tinker — My post about Wikipedia and public goods prompted an interesting response from Judd Antin at Berkeley's School of Information. He makes a number of sharp points, but let me focus on this response to the idea that free-riders don't hurt Wikipedia: This completely depends on what your goal is. On the one hand, sure, once you reach critical mass, the marginal cost of providing the good is zero (or near-zero), so who cares how many free-riders there are. On the other hand, there are lots of benefits to adding to the group of contributors. Wikipedia isn’t perfect - not even close. It’s wrong on a lot of topics. It’s ...