A Wikipedia Wecord

(Wikipedia)

Try doing a search for any subject at all. Go on. Open a browser and type in whatever random topic you'd like. I can almost guarantee that the Wikipedia entry about it will be either one or two in the search results. Clearly founder Jimmy Wales and company have mastered the art of being discovered online, and it helps that they have such a ubiquitous presence. Word is they've reached the two million mark for Wikipedia English entries, though there's some debate over who or what reached the milestone.

The Wikipedia announcement can be found here. It points out that the El Hormiguero entry, which covers a Spanish TV comedy show, was erroneously thought to be number two million. (El Hormiguero? Who knew. If this alone doesn't illustrate the breadth of Wikipedia then I don't know what does.) So the search is on for the rightful record holder.

For most journalists, the information on Wikipedia remains forbidden ground. There have simply been too many cases of errors or altered entries to use it as a primary source, as tempting as it may be. That said, it's a very handy tool to settle dinner-time disputes like the tallest building in the world or who began marketing the "Crazy Frog" ring tone. With Web surfing included in nearly every mobile device these days it must be outlawed by trivial pursuit gatherings across the country.

We live in a "wiki" world and it's getting larger all the time. These days there are several projects that fall within the Wikimedia foundation. The concept permeates countless Web sites like Lostpedia, which chronicles the complex story of the "Lost" TV show. You can even search for wiki-like entries through the wiki-esque browser, Wikia. (Whoa on the wiki.) Though with two million entries in the original Wikipedia it's hard to imagine what's not included. Do I hear three?

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