Wikipedia

The thing that really bothered me about this chapter is that Levinson did not address the reasons why people contribute to Wikipedia. Although he mentions how everyone has an opportunity to be an editor and share their thoughts, which might be part of the allure, he does not address other reasons why people want to take the time out of their days to post on Wikipedia. Although a person might read Wikipedia as a source of information, what draws them to transition from reader to contributor? What are the pulls other than having your expertise posted? Expertise that could be edited or removed by someone on the web that you do not know. Basically, why waste the time?

Another thing that I found interesting was the section questioning "Does Wikipedia Make Libraries Unnecessary?" For me Wikipedia will not replace books because although it provides information, Wikipedia is not in the business of providing pleasure, such as provided in a great novel. Plus, as Levinson points out, information in a book will always remain on the same page. This is in contrast to the web, which allows content to be constantly changed and edited by completely random people. This constant change builds less confidence then books as people usually associate reliability with stability and consistency.