Don't Knock Wikipedia!

Nicholas Carr on how Facebook and Wikipedia might fit together

The above link is to popular author Nick Carr's article on how he thinks that, from a revenue standpoint, it would make sense for Facebook to imitate a Wikipedia website for the next addition to its network. This suggestion is on the heels of Facebook's announcement that it will launch a craigslist-like site to compete with the minimalist classified ad machine that gets most of its traffic from 20-somethings who are in college (i.e., likely Facebook users).

Of course, his idea makes sense from the point of view of Facebook's bottom line. At least, it does in the short run - the very short run. The problem is that, once the Facebook users, as young and self-involved as they are, realize that they are the only ones posting to the "Facebookpedia" (or "Wikiface" - I think that's a better title!). The wisdom of the crowd is only as good as the crowd from which it draws is big. The bigger the crowd, the more wisdom, obviously. Therefore, wisdom drawn from just 22-24 year olds won't grow near as fast or deep as the real wiki, which means that soon, the Facebook users will simply go back to using the same old Wikipedia, at which point Facebook risks losing its growth in popularity completely. An unimpressive venture that's really a copy of a very successful website would be detrimental for Facebook, in my opinion.

From a user-of-the-web standpoint, I'd also be worried if this idea is successful for Facebook. I personally love the site and the company - I think their open-source approach to their calling is great, and they've allowed themselves to branch out, to their benefit, creating the fastest growing network on the web. Such innovation benefits the cause of the web immensely as the forum for the free expression and flow of though. So, I'd be cautious about anything that might take away steam from something as beneficial as Wikipedia.

These are my humble thoughts. Any other opinions would be welcomed.