Encyclopedia Brittanica Leans “Web 2.0”

Two hundred forty year old Encyclopedia Brittanica is taking a big step by dipping their toe in the participative Web, otherwise known as “Web 2.0.”  Starting this month they are inviting us to join in on a “collaboration” initiative among EB experts.

Now, before you go to thinking they have gone all wild and “Wikipedia” on us, not quite so.  But it is a big step toward transparency about just who is behind the Britannica.   EB is inviting their existing scholars and experts to participate in a new “community of scholars,” who will each have a profile where they can showcase all their work, including work outside of the Brittanica.  EB will allow us regular folks to suggest changes to the experts’ work.

As a tip of the hat to readers (and a grand experiment in our eyes) they will allow readers to publish work in the commoners area, including articles, essays and multimedia presentations. 

EB believes expert information is “collaborative, but not democratic” and that this approach will give everyone the best of both worlds: a more inclusive process while maintaining scholarly appeal.   

Considering their age, we think the initiative is brilliant enough to award them a resoundingly modern rank of  M+!