The Long Tail of information sharing

I explore the Long Tail of information sharing, noting that a tiny fraction of users drive most Wikipedia content. I originally doubted organizational wikis could reach critical mass, but later found examples where scale made them work.

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 • Links

The Long Tail of information sharing. Even on Wikipedia, fewer than 2% have contributed over 100 articles. Over 85% have contributed fewer than 5 articles. A Wiki inside an organisation is unlikely to reach critical mass, left to itself.

Comments

Arun 28 Apr 2006 6:10 am: But I imagine, many in the 85% probably contributed stuff that the prolific guys never thought of. For instance, I know one guy who put up something on Ananth Pai (Tinkle, Amar Chitra Katha), and i doubt he probably ever added anything else. But you are right about wiki in an organization. Do you know an organization where a wiki has been used effectively?
S Anand 28 Apr 2006 10:22 pm: No, not offhand. We were planning to recommend it at one of our clients’, but I’m not going to do that any more.
sathish 30 Apr 2006 2:39 am: if the organization strength is large - runs into many thousands or lakhs - I think the required critical mass might be acheived.. for smaller companies and small teams too, it might make sense - since, every one is liable to participate - especially product documentation - it would be easier make/correct and change.
Arun 30 Apr 2006 6:02 am: Ah, ok.
S Anand 30 Apr 2006 8:45 am: A colleague just reported that his current client is successfully using a Wiki. So may it’s not impossible after all…
Madhu 2 May 2006 12:24 pm: wiki is all about scale i think. The sergery brin special lecture at UCB is a case in point. You can access this at google videos