WIKIPEDIA AS A DIGITAL COMMONS: COLLABORATIVE PRODUCTION AND FREE ACCESSING TO INFORMATION/KNOWLEDGE
Abstract
The aim of this study, in fact, analyses Wikipedia as an example case to understand the logic of digital commons and how users made use of it. Documents on the Wikipedia website and Wikimedia foundation website have been used to understand how Wikipedia works. Furthermore, the interviews have been done with Wikipedia users, and the research is supported by these data. Thematic analysis has been applied to my research to analyse collected data. In short, the importance of the digital commons based-projects for free access to information/knowledge is discussed by this study. The themes discussed in the finding chapter are free access to information/knowledge on the internet, popularity and reliability of Wikipedia, surveillance and advertisements, and contributions to Wikipedia. Users of Wikipedia strongly support free access to information on the internet. Wikipedia is a popular encyclopedia due to the fact that users claim that information/knowledge on Wikipedia is simple. However, users do not reach a consensus on the reliability of content on Wikipedia. Also, most users do not want to see advertisements on Wikipedia. Even though Wikipedia does not sell personal data of users to third parties, some users worry about surveillance on the internet. Most users do not play an active role in generating content on Wikipedia, but few users contribute the content and donate money to the Wikipedia Foundation.
Keywords
References
- About (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
- Alexa Top 500 Global Sites (2021). In Alexa. Retrieved from http://www.alexa.com/topsites
- BENKLER, Y. (2002). Coase’s Penguin, or Linux and “The Nature of the Firm”. The Yale Law Journal, 112(3), pp. 369–446.
- BENKLER, Y. (2006). The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- BERRY, D. M. (2008). Copy, Rip, Burn: The Politics of Open Source. London: Pluto Press.
- CASTELLS, M. (2013). Communication Power. Oxford: Oxford Press.
- CLARKE, V., BRAUN, V. (2017) ‘Thematic Analysis’, The Journal of Positive Psychology, vol:12 (3), p.297-298.
- FILIPPI, P. D.,VIEIRA, M. S. (2014). The Commodification of Information Commons: The Case of Cloud Computing. The Columbia Science & Technology Law Review, XVI, pp. 102–143.
- Five Pillars (2021) In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars
- FUCHS, C. (2008). Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age. New York: Taylor & Francis.
- FUCHS, C. (2012). Critique of the political economy of Web 2.0 surveillance, C. Fuchs, K. Boersma, A. Albrechtslund, and M. Sandoval (eds.) in Internet and Surveillance: The challanges of Web 2.0 and Social Media (31-70). UK: Routledge.
- FUCHS, C. (2014). Social Media: A Critical Introduction. London: SAGE Publications.
- Fundraising/2019-2020 Report (2021g) In Wikipedia. Retrieved fromhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/2019-20_Report
- GNU General Public License, version 1 (1989). In GNU. Retrieved from https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-1.0-standalone.html
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- HOFMOKL, J. (2010) ‘The internet commons : towards an eclectic theoretical framework’, International Journal of the Commons, 4(1), pp. 226–250.
- KENT, R. (2007). Marketing Research: Approaches, Methods and Applications in Europe. London: Cengage Learning EMEA.
- KVALE, S., BRINKMANN, S. (2009). InterViews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing. London: SAGE Publications.
- MILBERRY, K., ANDERSON, S. (2009). Open Sourcing Our Way to an Online Commons: Contesting Corporate Impermeability in the New Media Ecology. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 33(4), pp. 393–412.
- Neutral Point of View (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view
- RIFKIN, J. (2014). The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Polling Is Not a Substitute for Discussion (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Polling is_not_a_substitute_for_discussion
- Privacy Policy (2021) In Wikipedia. Retrieved fromhttps://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_policy#introduction
- SOLUM, L. B., CHUNG, M. (2003). The Layers Principle: Internet Architecture and the Law, SSRN Electronic Journal, 79:3, pp. 815–948.
- STALLMAN, R. M. (2002). Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman. Boston: GNU Press. Verifiability (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability
- WALES, J. (2021). Make your donation now. Retrieved from https://donate.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:FundraiserLandingPage&country=GB&uselang=en&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_source=donate&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org
- Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws (2020). In Wikipedia Foundation. Retrieved from https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Bylaws
- WILLIAMS, R. (1983). Keywords: a vocabulary of culture and society. London: Fontana Paperbacks.
Abstract
Bu çalışmanın amacı, dijital müştereklerin mantığını ve kullanıcıların ondan nasıl yararlandığını anlayabilmek için Vikipedi’yi örnek vaka olarak analiz etmektir. Vikipedi’nin nasıl işlerlik kazandığını anlamak için kendi ve Vikipedi Vakfı’nın web sayfasında bulunan dökümanlar kullanılmıştır. Ayrıca, Vikipedi kullanıcıları ile mülakatlar yapılmış ve çalışma mülakatlardan elde edilen verilerle desteklenmiştir. Kısacası bu çalışmada, bilgiye özgürce için dijital müştereklere dayalı projelerin önemi tartışılmaktadır. Bulgular bölümünde tartışılan temalar şunlardır: İnternette enformasyona/bilgiye özgürce ulaşım, Vikipedi’nin popülerliği ve güvenirliği, gözetleme ve reklamlar ve Vikipedi’ye katkılar. Vikipedi kullanıcıları kuvvetli bir şekilde internette bilgiye özgürce erişimi desteklemektedirler. Kullanıcılar Vikipedi’deki bilgilerin basit olmasından dolayı Vikipedi’nin popüler bir ansiklopedi olduğunu ileri sürmektedirler. Ancak kullanıcılar Vikipedi’nin içeriklerinin güvenirliği hakkında fikir birliğine sahip değillerdir. Ayrıca çoğu kullanıcı Vikipedi’de reklam görmek istememektedir. Vikipedi kullanıcıların kişisel bilgilerini üçüncü şahıslara satmamasına rağmen bazı kullanıcılar internette gözetlenmekten endişe duymaktadır. Çoğu kullanıcı Vikipedi’deki içeriklerin oluşturulmasına katkı sağlamamakta, yalnızca çok az sayıda kullanıcı içeriklere katkı sağlamakta ve Vikipedi Vakfına para bağışı yapmaktadır.
Keywords
References
- About (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
- Alexa Top 500 Global Sites (2021). In Alexa. Retrieved from http://www.alexa.com/topsites
- BENKLER, Y. (2002). Coase’s Penguin, or Linux and “The Nature of the Firm”. The Yale Law Journal, 112(3), pp. 369–446.
- BENKLER, Y. (2006). The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- BERRY, D. M. (2008). Copy, Rip, Burn: The Politics of Open Source. London: Pluto Press.
- CASTELLS, M. (2013). Communication Power. Oxford: Oxford Press.
- CLARKE, V., BRAUN, V. (2017) ‘Thematic Analysis’, The Journal of Positive Psychology, vol:12 (3), p.297-298.
- FILIPPI, P. D.,VIEIRA, M. S. (2014). The Commodification of Information Commons: The Case of Cloud Computing. The Columbia Science & Technology Law Review, XVI, pp. 102–143.
- Five Pillars (2021) In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars
- FUCHS, C. (2008). Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age. New York: Taylor & Francis.
- FUCHS, C. (2012). Critique of the political economy of Web 2.0 surveillance, C. Fuchs, K. Boersma, A. Albrechtslund, and M. Sandoval (eds.) in Internet and Surveillance: The challanges of Web 2.0 and Social Media (31-70). UK: Routledge.
- FUCHS, C. (2014). Social Media: A Critical Introduction. London: SAGE Publications.
- Fundraising/2019-2020 Report (2021g) In Wikipedia. Retrieved fromhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/2019-20_Report
- GNU General Public License, version 1 (1989). In GNU. Retrieved from https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-1.0-standalone.html
- HIMANEN, P. (2001). The Hacker Ethic, and the Spirit of the Information. London: Vintage.
- HOFMOKL, J. (2010) ‘The internet commons : towards an eclectic theoretical framework’, International Journal of the Commons, 4(1), pp. 226–250.
- KENT, R. (2007). Marketing Research: Approaches, Methods and Applications in Europe. London: Cengage Learning EMEA.
- KVALE, S., BRINKMANN, S. (2009). InterViews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing. London: SAGE Publications.
- MILBERRY, K., ANDERSON, S. (2009). Open Sourcing Our Way to an Online Commons: Contesting Corporate Impermeability in the New Media Ecology. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 33(4), pp. 393–412.
- Neutral Point of View (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view
- RIFKIN, J. (2014). The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Polling Is Not a Substitute for Discussion (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Polling is_not_a_substitute_for_discussion
- Privacy Policy (2021) In Wikipedia. Retrieved fromhttps://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_policy#introduction
- SOLUM, L. B., CHUNG, M. (2003). The Layers Principle: Internet Architecture and the Law, SSRN Electronic Journal, 79:3, pp. 815–948.
- STALLMAN, R. M. (2002). Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman. Boston: GNU Press. Verifiability (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability
- WALES, J. (2021). Make your donation now. Retrieved from https://donate.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:FundraiserLandingPage&country=GB&uselang=en&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_source=donate&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org
- Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws (2020). In Wikipedia Foundation. Retrieved from https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Bylaws
- WILLIAMS, R. (1983). Keywords: a vocabulary of culture and society. London: Fontana Paperbacks.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Communication and Media Studies |
| Journal Section | Articles |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | December 31, 2021 |
| Submission Date | September 15, 2021 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2021 Issue: 16 |
