Sunday, March 18, 2012

Encyclopedia Britannica vs. Wikipedia [INFOGRAPHIC]

Encyclopedia Britannica vs. Wikipedia [INFOGRAPHIC]: The Encyclopedia Britannica officially announced it would scrap its print edition on Tuesday in the face of plummeting sales. For many, this was a foregone conclusion. In a world of infinite and instant knowledge, the idea of owning a $1,395 32-volume hardcover library that’s outdated the moment you crease the spine is laughable. Wikipedia certainly had a hand in Britannica’s print death knell. The crowd-powered reference site is arguably the greatest knowledge experiment civilization has ever seen. And while its critics are the first to point out its unreliability, advocates would counter that a self-correcting collective is more reliable and scalable than a room full of scholars (who, on occasion, also make mistakes). Our friends at Statista have taken a look at the economics of Wikipedia and Britannica. The timeline and stats below give a good overview of how these two sources diverge, and the inevitable dominance of the web. Are you sad to see the print version of Britannica go? Do you feel it’s still worthwhile to pay for its digital offerings?
Infographic courtesy of Statista. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, AnthiaCumming More About: encyclopedia, features, infographics, Tech, wikipedia
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