It wasn’t so long ago that Encyclopedia Britannica was the definitive source for information. Then came along the computer and Microsoft’s Encarta DVD version of the world. It had a big impact on Britannica’s business model and shrank the market considerably (I mean who would pay hundreds of pounds for the books when they could get a DVD for less than £30).
Then came Wikipedia. Wikipedia offered a free service with content written by the public and this caused major disruption again.
I dont have the detailed statistics but Wikipedia currently gets around 450 times the traffic as Encyclopedia Britannica.
So you would think that would be the end of it. I mean how can you compete with free?
Over the weekend Google announced GPedia. Their version of the Wikipedia, but this time they will pay contributors based on the advertising revenue generated on the pages holding their content. So again, Google tips the market dynamics on its head.
It will be interesting to see where this goes - and whether GPedia becomes as popular as Wikipedia, but when you own the search engine of choice and you can change the algorithms which point people to relevant sites it does make an interesting proposition.
What do you think of this proposal?
Dean
What about the people who don’t really like Christmas and all the festive extravagance? (Hope you’re reading this, Bob - Ed)
Bah humbug! More…
With just 10 days to go until Christmas time is running out to get everything organised in time for the big day.
Another PlusNet working week ends and Christmas draws even closer. Even more scary is the through that 2008 is just around the corner. I’m 31 next year. How the hell did that happen?
I don’t know if anyone has actually been reading these blogs, or if they have found any of them remotely useful but I’m going to keep writing them until the end of December regardless! More…
Spirits were high today after the end of year Company Rally this afternoon. It consisted of three Pecha Kucha presentations on what we have achieved and where we are headed next. The 20 second time limit on each slide made for some amusing presentations! More…
Monday saw the end of our Christmas My Referrals promotion and, after a few phone calls and emails, I managed to contact our lucky winner. So, I’ll be off to New York to enjoy my prize over New Year! More…
Are you still struggling to think of gifts for your loved ones?? More…
Not counting tonight’s late shopping, there’s now just 12 days to Christmas! I’ve personally not bought any cards yet, never mind sent them. If you’ve been following our festive tips here on the news page, you’ll perhaps be a little more organised. More…
Found this site by chance today. Absolutely stunning design work (which is not something you generally associate with a government funded website). You fill in a few forms (takes 2-3mins max) and it works out your carbon footprint and provides an action plan at the end.
http://actonco2.direct.gov.uk/index.html
I like this type of website as its fun to use but has a more serious point behind it. Is this the face of “education” to come? Sure beats those adverts we used to get in the 80’s & 90’s on TV 
Regards
Dean
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