Author | Andrew Lih |
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Language | English |
Subject | Wikipedia |
Genre | Nonfiction |
Publisher |
|
Publication date | March 17, 2009 |
Publication place | United States |
ISBN | 978-1-4013-0371-6 |
OCLC | 232977686 |
031 22 | |
LC Class | ZA4482 .L54 2009 |
The Wikipedia Revolution: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia is a 2009 popular history book by new media researcher and writer Andrew Lih.[1][2][3]
At the time of its publication it was "the only narrative account" of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia (in English).[4] It covers the period from Wikipedia's founding in early 2001 up to early 2008. Written as a popular history, the text ranges from short biographies of Jimmy Wales, Larry Sanger and Ward Cunningham, to brief accounts of infamous events in Wikipedia's history such as the Essjay controversy and the Seigenthaler incident.
Lih describes the importance of early influences on Wikipedia including Usenet, HyperCard, Slashdot, and MeatballWiki. He also explores the cultural differences found within sister projects such as the German Wikipedia, the Chinese Wikipedia, and the Japanese Wikipedia. The book also covers the Citizendium project, originally a fork of Wikipedia by co-founder Larry Sanger.