Wikipedia Article

The wikipedia assignment was surprisingly challenging, yet fulfilling at the same time. It was the first time I had ever contributed to an online knowledge bank, and I felt very proud. I chose to write on "Carbon Sequestration In Terrestrial Ecosystems - Grazing Land Management" because I was knowledgeable on the subject and nearly no content was written previously. I think choosing to write about a subject you were less informed on would be an interesting exercise, and I think you would learn a lot. Nevertheless, good contributions from experienced and knowledgeable professionals are invaluable to a resource like wikipedia.

When I began writing I placed pressure on myself to write a good article, because I wanted to take seriously how much people actually rely on wikipedia for well supported and quick information. Therefore, I found numerous peer reviewed articles to support my wikipedia article. Yet, I still allowed my own writing style to shine, because wikipedia allows public contributions, and the uniqueness of each writer should come out within the article. I understand being "neutral" is important when writing informative articles, but each writers own perspective should be considered positive, not negative.

I found the wiki code fairly simple to use, with a few stumbling blocks. The referencing intimidated me at first, but it turned out to be fairly intuitive. This allowed me to concentrate on my subject matter rather than toiling over complex code or formatting, and it became apparent that wikipedia's user-friendly interface is crucial to their success. Simply because, people with vast knowledge and resources (time) may be more inclined to share their knowledge through a medium like wikipedia if it is quick and easy to use.

Tools like wikipedia are becoming more prominent in our society. Primary research and literature is crucial to the progress of our globe, but providing that knowledge to the public in a understandable manner is just as important. I think researchers will increase their usage of wikipedia for sharing research and discussion, altering future research trajectories.

It was interesting to look and see what other students had posted regarding the wikipedia assignment (Misscommunications) and doubt all the contributions from our class (ALES 204) will alter history!

Enjoy my wikipedia article contributions here. It is under "Grazing land management"-

Hughie Jones