Think Critically, Y'all
"According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, John Seigenthaler Sr. is 78 years old and the former editor of The Tennessean in Nashville. But is that information, or anything else in Mr. Seigenthaler's biography, true? The question arises because Mr. Seigenthaler recently read about himself on Wikipedia and was shocked to learn that he "was thought to have been directly involved in the Kennedy assassinations of both John and his brother Bobby." . . . The case triggered extensive debate on the Internet over the value and reliability of Wikipedia, and more broadly, over the nature of online information. Wikipedia is a kind of collective brain, a repository of knowledge, maintained on servers in various countries and built by anyone in the world with a computer and an Internet connection who wants to share knowledge about a subject. . . [T]he question of Wikipedia, as of so much of what you find online, is: Can you trust it?. . . Jessica Baumgart, a news researcher at Harvard University. . .[said] in an interview. . . that her rule of thumb was to double-check everything and to consider Wikipedia as only one source. "Instead of figuring out how to 'fix' Wikipedia - something that cannot be done to our satisfaction," wrote Derek Willis, a research database manager at The Washington Post, who was speaking for himself and not The Post, "we should focus our energies on educating the Wikipedia users among our colleagues." [NY Times; free registration required]
I've consulted Wikipedia on occasion and have found it useful for a quick overview of a person, place, idea, etc. To my mind, Wikipedia's statement on its main page says it all: "Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit." (emphasis mine) Would you trust a newspaper that "anyone can publish"? A newscast that "anyone can broadcast"? Sure, if you trusted the publisher or broadcaster. Blogs and podcasts are personal publishing and broadcasting tools that many of us consume on a regular basis.
[stepping up on soapbox] I hope people are savvy enough to think critically about all information sources. Don't just be lazy and accept some prechewed (and often flawed) commentary (Rush Limbaugh fans, O'Reilly Factor fans, this means you.). If it's important, consult multiple sources. [stepping down from soapbox]
