Britannica Imitates Wikipedia
(p. 209) Britannica had already launched a project called WebShare in April 2008, which was described as "A special program for web publishers, including bloggers, webmasters, and anyone who writes for the Internet. You get complimentary access to the Encyclopaedia Britannica online and, if you like, an easy way to give your readers background on the topics you write about with links to complete Britannica articles." This was a rather radical move, obviously trying to vie with Wikipedia's emergence as one of the most linked-to resources on the Internet.
But the latest initiative was something quite astonishing, as Britannica was now inviting users to be part of the team of content creators:
To elicit their participation in our new online community of scholars, we will provide our contributors with a reward system and a rich online home that will enable them to promote themselves, their work, and their services. . . . Encyclopaedia Britannica will allow those visitors to suggest changes and additions to that content.
Source:
Lih, Andrew. The Wikipedia Revolution: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia. New York: Hyperion, 2009.
(Note: ellipsis in original.)
