Wikipedia on the lookout for more diversity
Published 12:01 am Sunday, January 16, 2011
Wikipedia, the online trove of assorted facts and trivia, is trying to be more well-rounded.
As the encyclopedia nears its 10th birthday on Saturday, its leaders are seeking a more diverse group of editors — specifically, women, people in developing countries and people with expertise in assorted disciplines.
Wikipedia is about to open an office in India and wants to expand further in Brazil, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries. Today, 20 percent of the site’s pages are written in English, but the organization expects that to change over the next 10 years.
“Everybody brings their crumbs of knowledge to the table and all those crumbs become a banquet. And we’re missing some people from the table,” said Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that runs Wikipedia.
As it is, said Jimmy Wales, the site’s founder, the average Wikipedia editor is a well-educated twenty-something — and most likely male. Eighty percent of its editors are men and they include twice as many people with Ph.D.s as the general population.
New service points way to fine food
Foodies have a new way to snag reservations at posh urban eateries — and enjoy them at a steep discount.
A six-month-old Web service called VillageVines is elbowing its way into the growing crowd of discount sites that offer everything from haircuts to yoga sessions for as much as half off.
VillageVines, modeled on a competing service called OpenTable, offers a 30 percent discount on restaurant tabs — alcohol included — at up-scale destinations around the country. Subscribers to the service pay $10 to make a reservation, and the discount is discretely applied to the check.
Unlike Groupon, which offers one-time daily deals, and other services like it, VillageVines has built a roster of more than 250 restaurants that will honor the discount for as many meals as you like.
The catch is that the restaurants get to pick when.
That helps restaurateurs fill tables at odd hours — 5 p.m. on a weeknight, say — when they might otherwise be empty. So only those willing to be flexible with their meal times can get cheap eats.
Or at least cheaper. VillageVines has decided to focus on high-end fair. New York’s Le Cirque, where you can spend $120 on a white truffle appetizer, was among the first to sign up.
In any case, with the $10 charge for making a reservation, the bill has to be at least $33.33 for a subscriber to break even.
Associated Press
