The Wikipedia Revolution, by Andrew Lih

Perhaps, this was one book that should never have come out in dead-tree format, because you might as well create the chapters in Wikipedia or another website. On the other hand, people still do like to read books and as long as the market exists, why not? And books sometimes can provide you a linear, chronological narration of events and present a better summary than information online.

Andrew Lih narrates the history of Wikipedia. He also explains how the various decisions relating to the administration of Wikipedia were made. How Wikipedia grew and expanded into different languages. How Wikipedia works and some of the underlying technology. The various crises in its short history. The various communities surrounding Wikipedia. There is some good stuff in this book, but I felt that some topics were not expanded enough, such as SEO gaming, deletionism, etc. Perhaps could have done with a few more pages.

Tags: history technology