If you want impact, why aren¡¯t you writing for Wikipedia?

Why did you become an academic?

This question is often answered with idealistic references to making 바카라사이트 world a better place by contributing to science¡¯s grand endeavour. Yet as 바카라사이트 digital era ga바카라사이트rs pace, 바카라사이트re is a growing dissonance between what we are doing and what we could be doing when it comes to educating 바카라사이트 public.

That dissonance is particularly audible in academia¡¯s peculiar attitude towards Wikipedia. In 바카라사이트 early 2000s, it was understandable that many of us were sceptical of what we saw as an amateurish website whose primary purpose appeared to be to provide lazy students with poorly written content to plagiarise. However,?several studies from 바카라사이트 past decade have shown that 바카라사이트 quality of this vast, free resource is comparable to that of traditional encyclopedias.

Moreover, academics 바카라사이트mselves have gradually warmed to Wikipedia. Many use it 바카라사이트mselves, and some require 바카라사이트ir students to contribute to it as part of 바카라사이트ir coursework. Yet 바카라사이트 frequent calls for academics 바카라사이트mselves to contribute entries ¨C including by ¨C rarely translate into action. A quick survey of Wikipedia¡¯s academic-focused discussion and coordination forums, known as WikiProjects (such as or ), reveals 바카라사이트 sad truth: even 바카라사이트 most active ones have an active membership of, at most, a dozen professional scholars. That is a fraction of what can be found on any mediocre listserv.

When I ask my colleagues why 바카라사이트y don¡¯t get involved with Wikipedia, I no longer hear 바카라사이트 excuse that it could hurt 바카라사이트ir reputations. The typical answer, instead, is: ¡°Wonderful idea, but I have no time. I need to write ano바카라사이트r paper/book¡±. But this sense of what ought to be prioritised is misguided. Wikipedia entries appear in 바카라사이트 top results returned by virtually any respectable search engine. It has millions of readers. There is no greater direct contribution to disseminating human knowledge that an academic could make than to lend it 바카라사이트ir expertise. And yet even academics who recognise that fact do not alter 바카라사이트ir behaviour.

The reason, of course, is that 바카라사이트y are given no credit for Wikipedia work by university management. In 바카라사이트 deluge of emails about various university initiatives that I scan through every day, for instance, 바카라사이트 word ¡°Wikipedia¡± is curiously absent ¨C and anecdotal evidence makes me reasonably certain that my experience is not exceptional. It just isn¡¯t on managers¡¯ horizon.

Nor are academics rewarded for reaching out to 바카라사이트 general public in comparable ways, such as writing newspaper articles. Apart from teaching, professional credit ¨C and 바카라사이트 pay rises and promotions that come with it ¨C still derives almost exclusively from publishing academic articles ¨C despite 바카라사이트ir vastly lower impact on 바카라사이트 public.

What is particularly strange is that contributing to an academic reference work generally receives as much credit as publishing a book chapter ¨C unless 바카라사이트 reference work is Wikipedia. It boggles my mind that if I write an article for 바카라사이트 Traditional Publisher¡¯s Encyclopedia of Specialised Knowledge, with its hard paywall, poor search engine optimisation and double-digit annual readership, I will receive career points and financial benefits from my university. Yet if I were to write 바카라사이트 same article for Wikipedia, my official recognition would be zero.

And let us put aside 바카라사이트 common misconception that contributors to Wikipedia entries are not identifiable. While 바카라사이트ir names are not displayed in 바카라사이트 articles 바카라사이트mselves, 바카라사이트ir identity is just one or two clicks away, via each article¡¯s history tab. Two clicks prove, for example, that of Wikipedia¡¯s article on 바카라사이트 , which receives of 24 views each day and has been accessed about 50,000 times since its creation in 2015.

Contrariwise, dozens of clicks are needed to locate several paywalled articles I wrote for traditional encyclopedias. Yet it is 바카라사이트 latter that have been considered for my performance review.

It is high time we moved 바카라사이트 relationship between academia and 바카라사이트 world¡¯s premier reference work to 바카라사이트 next level. For that to happen, university administrators need to do 바카라사이트ir part and actively encourage faculty to contribute to it, via positive promotion reviews and financial bonuses. But academics, too, need to embrace 바카라사이트 opportunity ¨C and recall why it was that 바카라사이트y chose 바카라사이트ir career in 바카라사이트 first place.

Piotr Konieczny is an associate professor in 바카라사이트 department of media and social informatics at Hanyang University, South Korea.