Comments on: Demand Media vs. Wikimedia: the battle for the soul of the Internet http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/ assorted blogging by Sage Ross Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:26:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Demand Media, AOL’s Seed and Spring Break for the Internet (SXSW) Day Two « DigiDave – Journalism is a Process, Not a Product http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-3745 Demand Media, AOL’s Seed and Spring Break for the Internet (SXSW) Day Two « DigiDave – Journalism is a Process, Not a Product Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:21:34 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-3745 [...] but I’ll use that for now, as I lack a better term.  Some have even pointed to them as a battle for the Internet’s soul – no small [...] [...] but I’ll use that for now, as I lack a better term.  Some have even pointed to them as a battle for the Internet’s soul – no small [...]

]]> By: fledgling’s archive, december 2009 « Makurrah's Blog http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-2300 fledgling’s archive, december 2009 « Makurrah's Blog Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:24:03 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-2300 [...] day. In a world of Demand Media, computational journalism, and AOL’s news production strategy, questions about the lines between quantitative, qualitative, and human journalism seem ever more pre.... If we are moving towards some kind of semantic web, what does that mean for the future of news? [...] [...] day. In a world of Demand Media, computational journalism, and AOL’s news production strategy, questions about the lines between quantitative, qualitative, and human journalism seem ever more pre…. If we are moving towards some kind of semantic web, what does that mean for the future of news? [...]

]]> By: Next year’s news about the news: What we’ll be fighting about in 2010 » Nieman Journalism Lab http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-1905 Next year’s news about the news: What we’ll be fighting about in 2010 » Nieman Journalism Lab Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:41:33 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-1905 [...] In a world of Demand Media, computational journalism, and AOL’s news production strategy, questions about the lines between quantitative, qualitative, and human journalism seem ever more pre.... If we are moving towards some kind of semantic web, what does that mean for the future of news? [...] [...] In a world of Demand Media, computational journalism, and AOL’s news production strategy, questions about the lines between quantitative, qualitative, and human journalism seem ever more pre…. If we are moving towards some kind of semantic web, what does that mean for the future of news? [...]

]]> By: ragesoss » “Minds for Sale” (or, “Clickworkers of the world, unite!”) http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-1813 ragesoss » “Minds for Sale” (or, “Clickworkers of the world, unite!”) Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:39:57 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-1813 [...] manipulation, political repression, and other bad stuff, related to what I’ve blogged about Demand Media vs. Wikimedia and the psychology of fun and [...] [...] manipulation, political repression, and other bad stuff, related to what I’ve blogged about Demand Media vs. Wikimedia and the psychology of fun and [...]

]]> By: sage http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-1781 sage Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:02:19 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-1781 Thanks, Jack. Do you think it's the wiki method that's the key? That's one factor, but I think a soulless wiki is not impossible. And passionate volunteers aren't the endpoint either; as Jason Fry points out in the above trackback: "media driven by love isn’t always so edifying, either. Have you been to Yahoo Answers lately?" So do you think the eHow / Demand Media model is inherently inferior, or is it just the weaknesses of the current search environment that enables Demand Media to make money by commissioning mediocre content? Thanks, Jack. Do you think it’s the wiki method that’s the key? That’s one factor, but I think a soulless wiki is not impossible. And passionate volunteers aren’t the endpoint either; as Jason Fry points out in the above trackback: “media driven by love isn’t always so edifying, either. Have you been to Yahoo Answers lately?”

So do you think the eHow / Demand Media model is inherently inferior, or is it just the weaknesses of the current search environment that enables Demand Media to make money by commissioning mediocre content?

]]> By: Jack Herrick http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-1779 Jack Herrick Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:21:56 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-1779 Wikis: We still make the Internet not suck! As the founder of wikiHow, I constantly notice the quality difference between wikiHow's articles written and edited by passionate volunteers and Demand Media's made for the advertising algorithm pages found on their eHow website. For example: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Box-Styled-Gimp - High quality wikiHow vs http://www.ehow.com/how_2265288_make-box-style-gimp.html - Good for ads, but questionably useful to a human reader by eHow / DemandMedia The wiki method does work to produce higher quality, more soulful work. Perhaps in time, web users and even search engines will be able to spot the difference before clicking to a soulless link. Wikis: We still make the Internet not suck!

As the founder of wikiHow, I constantly notice the quality difference between wikiHow’s articles written and edited by passionate volunteers and Demand Media’s made for the advertising algorithm pages found on their eHow website. For example:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Box-Styled-Gimp – High quality wikiHow
vs
http://www.ehow.com/how_2265288_make-box-style-gimp.html – Good for ads, but questionably useful to a human reader by eHow / DemandMedia

The wiki method does work to produce higher quality, more soulful work. Perhaps in time, web users and even search engines will be able to spot the difference before clicking to a soulless link.

]]> By: Hey, Demand Media! Get Off My Lawn! « Reinventing the Newsroom http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-1777 Hey, Demand Media! Get Off My Lawn! « Reinventing the Newsroom Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:37:54 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-1777 [...] interested in them as a different way to build a brand.) From there, I read Sage Ross’s very good take (channeling Jay Rosen) on Demand Media vs. [...] [...] interested in them as a different way to build a brand.) From there, I read Sage Ross’s very good take (channeling Jay Rosen) on Demand Media vs. [...]

]]> By: C.W. Anderson http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-1775 C.W. Anderson Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:48:18 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-1775 Brilliant. This really nails it. In my own research on online journalism, I've noticed the exact same tension: http://online.journalism.utexas.edu/detail.php?story=280&year=2009 I called it a vision of the audience that is "quantifiable" vs a vision of the audience as active and productive. Brilliant. This really nails it. In my own research on online journalism, I’ve noticed the exact same tension:

http://online.journalism.utexas.edu/detail.php?story=280&year=2009

I called it a vision of the audience that is “quantifiable” vs a vision of the audience as active and productive.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-1763 uberVU - social comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:31:47 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-1763 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by wikisignpost: Personal blog post: "Demand Media vs. Wikimedia: the battle for the soul of the Internet", inspired by @jayrosen_nyu: http://tr.im/GzHM... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by wikisignpost: Personal blog post: “Demand Media vs. Wikimedia: the battle for the soul of the Internet”, inspired by @jayrosen_nyu: http://tr.im/GzHM...

]]> By: Steven Walling http://ragesoss.com/blog/2009/12/03/demand-media-vs-wikimedia-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-1762 Steven Walling Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:57:47 +0000 http://ragesoss.com/blog/?p=337#comment-1762 Hits the proverbial nail on the head. Great post. Hits the proverbial nail on the head. Great post.

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