I did a long discussion about Wikipedia with Jason Calacanis (cofounder of Weblogs Inc, and former Netscape General Manager) on his podcast.
Some of the things we discussed included:
- Wikipedia culture
- Community spirit/policy – “Assume good faith” and “Ignore all rules”
- Advertising and revenue
- Essjay/New Yorker crisis
- Relationship of Wikipedia to Wikia
- Wikimania conference in Taiwan
My favorite quote: he described his discovering Wikipedia, “like a stockbroker running into church.”
Historical footnote: For those who may remember, I was the one accused of “cutting off” Calacanis at Wikimania 2006 when I moderated a session with Yochai Benkler. As you can see, there are no grudges.
thanks so much for coming on! great discussion… my education in all things Wikipedia continues.
Great podcast – and glad to see that exchange at Wikimania is water under the bridge.
I can’t believe people have made such a big deal about the “cutting off” at Wikimania–you had clearly stated 1 question per person, there was a line of people eager to ask questions to Benkler, and Calacanis wanted to start debating him after his 1 question/comment, which would have taken time from other people. The irony of it is that by chance Benkler sat down right in front of Jason and they ended up discussing well after the session was over.
i enjoyed this interview a lot. jason is the kind of newbie that you want to see to wikipedia: interested, impassioned and full of his own piss-and-vinegar with ideas for the project (even if i think that ads would suck the soul from wikipedia, heh). its good to see and hear some clever intellect bring some good issues to discourse. good job to you both.
and andrew, let us know the book’s progress as it comes, my curiosity is really piqued!