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GRA6825 running assignment, due November, 2008

This assignment is intended to teach you something about social software (slightly different from collaborative software) - and what better way than to participate in the largest social software project of them all? Wikipedia is an on-line encyclopedia, written collaboratively (that is, by the readers). It uses wiki technology, and everybody can update everything. Order is maintained by common goals and common behavioral norms.

Assignment: (Be advised that this assignment takes time - especially getting used to the Wikipedia format and culture - so a good idea is to start early and work on it intermittently but consistently.)

  1. Register yourself as a user, read some of the documentation about what Wikipedia is and how it is to be used. You will find links to this on the Main Page. Remember: Wikipedia is, if anything, a community with its own rules and norms, which you should know before you enter.
  2. While logged in (if you don't log in, I can't see what you have done and thus not evaluate your activity), start editing and writing articles – anything you do will be tracked and the versions saved. Write on whatever you want, but make sure that you follow the intention of the Wikipedia. Incidentally, did I mention that it is a good idea to remember to log in? Otherwise your edits will be anonymous, which may be good for the Wikipedia but not so good for you....
  3. Go to this page and add yourself to the list of students, making sure you use the correct format. (The intent here is that I should be able to click on each student, and then see what articles the student has worked on.)
  4. Write me a memo (in Blackboard), marked with both your name and your Wikipedia user name. For a total of less than 500 words, answer these questions:
    1. What, if anything, surprised you the most about the Wikipedia?
    2. What uses can you see for this technology in a corporate setting? What does it take for it to be successful?
    3. For which kind of businesses and technologies can Wikis be a disruptive technology?

Good luck, and welcome to the ‘pedia!

Espen