Partners in Knowledge

Wikipedia, the collaborative dictionary and Google the primary search engine on the Net are becoming the definitive sources of information for the Information Age.

Google searchess 'billions' of web-pages; the web pages are created by individuals; others cannot edit these pages. Wikipedia entries, on the other hand, can be created by one author and fully or partially edited by another. The edited definition is argued in an electronic forum by the various contributors. It is democratic Many authors claim 'truth' in an entry by referring to Google: "I googled it and it says that ..."

Both are considered democratic because anyone can submit web pages or facts and figures. In practice, Google's search and ranking algortihm controls the popularity of web pages, thereby, controlling the dissemination of knowledge. In practice, Wikipedia submissions come from those who follow, and possibly make, the socially enforced guidelines and rules. Both are hardly democratic: the ranking algorithm is held by a central authority; the Wiki's policies socially constructed by a few busy-bodies.

For example, here is a response to my edit of Vito's user page:

You can edit Vito's user page, but it is generally considerred either rude or vandalistic. See WP:USERPAGE. Daniel Olsen 06:53, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Daniel passes on the advice--it is considered either rude or vandalistic; he considered it a general rule.

Google and Wikipedia, partners in knowledge.