Wikipedia is starting to tackle a problem many content providers struggle with–reaching feature phone users on-the-go. Wikipedia’s solution will deliver articles via text message when users send an SMS request. The new product will help expand Wikipedia’s reach in developing countries. We’ve seen many services get creative about enabling rich mobile experiences on feature phones. For some more examples, take a look at M-Pesa’s mobile payments or Saya’s location based services.
Tag: Wikipedia
Branding in a new era of journalism
When Joel McHale’s character Jeff Winger on the NBC show Community spouts some dubious statistics in this week’s episode, he is promptly mocked by a friend who quips, “I think some of this research may have been done on Wikipedia.â€Â The user-generated encyclopedia gets its share of jabs from journalists, professors, and comedy writers alike, but that doesn’t stop 365 million unique visitors from happily trusting it as an information source every month.
This and other related topics were the subject of a SXSW Interactive panel last week titled “Process Journalism: Getting It First, While Getting it Right.” Several panelists, including writers for the New York Times and SISeattle.com discussed a new generation of journalism in which sites like Twitter and YouTube have become essential to breaking news stories.
Through a variety of case studies including stories about Steve Jobs’ health and a Seattle murder, the speakers illustrated a new triple-threat of resources that professional journalists now tap: Technology, Social Networks, and Citizen journalists. Continue reading “Branding in a new era of journalism”
