Friday, December 09, 2005

Wikis and wargamers

Wikis in the news
According to this article in Cnet [Link] the recent accusations of what really amounts to subtle undesirable manipulation (also known as "hacking") of the information in Wikipedia [Link] [definition of wiki] [definition of Wikipedia] has led to a change of the way the tool will work. According to the article by Daniel Terdiman the founder of wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, is instituting a change. Terdiman wrote, "he's going to change the ground rules for the popular anyone-can-contribute encyclopedia." In short it will no longer be anyone-can-contribute. The whole point of wikis has been that the community itself can be trusted to maintain the integrity of the source. To some this security enhancement will be seen as an indication that this trust may have been misplaced. Why enhance security unless you don't trust the community?

Gaming for profit
Even war gamers are becoming a commodity that can be outsourced, according to this story in the New York Times [Link.] It may seem funny to some, but there is a subtle warning here. No matter what happens, do not let yourself and your skillset become a commodity. What ever can be outsourced, will be outsourced. Remember, when it comes to selling commodities, the person who makes the sale is the one who sells the cheapest. For folks who become commodities it is a race to the bottom. You need to establish a personal brand in this new world that sets you apart.

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