WOOT! It’s number one for Merriam-Webster

My previous post concerning new words making it into the holy books of dictionaries, I mentioned how Locavore was the number one new word.  Now it appears the Merriam-Webster open (on-line) version has come up with a winner for this year. Last years winner was “Google”, as in “Go ahead and Google my name”. If you don’t know how w00t is used, it’s a pretty geeky way to express joy, often associated with on-line gamers. Winning loot off another gamer, or even just winning a round in a game will set off a lot of WOOTs. However, it has dripped into the on-line experiences of Bloggers and such.For better or worse, FaceBook came in second place. To FaceBook, you must be uploading on the social network site, or finding friends, sending messages, playing games or taking tests, depending on the Apps that are piggybacked onto someone’s page.  BTW, the real definition of w00t can be found here.

Canadian Copyright act to change. Not Fair!

Michael Geist, a technology-law scholar in Canada, has been campaigning against a proposed copyright reform bill via YouTube and Facebook. The measure, he warns the public, would mirror the controversial U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act by restricting the use of digital works, and making it illegal to bypass copyright protection devices on digital books, recordings, and other material. In a video he posted on YouTube this month, he urges people to write letters to government officials, university presidents, and media outlets to denounce the copyright proposal. Mr. Geist also started a Facebook page called Fair Copyright, which has signed up over 23,000 people. With the power of YouTube and Facebook, he has managed to delay the reforms until the end of January. That’s not good enough. Until citizens have a voice, these reforms should not proceed. 

Wikipedia DOES have a place in Academia, says founder

According to this BBC News article, Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales has told attendees at a London IT conference this week that he doesn’t object to Wikipedia citations, although he admitted that scholars would “probably be better off doing their own research.”

 

In my previous post, I point out the dissatisfaction of academics with Wikipedia’s apparent lack of academic acceptance, so much so that Citizendium.org has appeared to patch that void. In this BBC article, Encyclopedia Britannica “maintains that with 239 years of history and rigorous fact-checking procedures, Britannica should remain a leader in authoritative, politically-neutral information” 

 

I maintain that Wikipedia is often the first choice go-to of not just myself, but a new generation of learners. It is written by people such as you and me, and that makes me feel good and connected. However, as with everything on the net, one must take a pinch of salt and continue on deeper into investigations to arrive at the best conclusion.