Page 21 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2016

Every year Wikipedia raises more funds and its continuity therefore seems to be assured, at least for a few more years. Its community has developed a series of technological, social and legal mechanisms for guaranteeing this continuity despite decisions to the contrary. The Wikimedia Foundation’s ve-year strategy speci ed its priorities in 200922:• Increase the total number of people served to 1 billion.• Increase the number of Wikipedia articles we o er to 50 million.• Ensure information is high quality by increasing the percentage of material reviewed to be of high or very high quality by 25 percent.• Encourage readers to become contributors by increasing the number of total editors who make at least 5 edits per month to 200,000.• Support healthy diversity in the editing community by doubling the percentage of female editors to 25 percent and increase the percentage of Global South editors to 37 percent.In future Wikipedia must seek a way of incorporating the latest emerging Internet technologies in a digital world based on mobile devices.In addition to these concerns, centred on the number of people who turn to Wikipedia whether as readers or contributors, and the expansion of the Internet in countries with emerging economies, how will Wikipedia beincluded in emerging Internet technologies, in the new mobile reality? When it came into being the computing environment was totally dominated by desktop, at least ve devices performed the functions of what today’s smartphones do and Wikipedia itself was designed to be viewed on a PC monitor.How will the Internet adapt to the Web, devices, objects and mass data processing, but also toa digital world based chie y on mobiles and on content generated for them?4. ConclusionsAs this survey indicates, we cannot make sweeping generalisations or take a deterministic view of the Wikipedia Internet phenomenon.Its components, characteristics and internal workings do not allow for simple explanations; rather, they call for re ection on and criticism of a minimal part of its components. The in uence of its content on the social scene will increase in years to come and its interaction with other knowledge-related social actors is not only imminent but a reality and a substantial part of its voluntary e orts to establish links.Its free model makes some people uneasy but makes life easier for others; it encourages some to re ect and learn from experience and sparks huge misgivings in others. After 15 years of existence, Wikipedia seems to fall more intothe category of common good, of that which belongs to mankind as a whole and as such must be preserved and cared for, than to the closed model of cultural assets upheld in past centuries at least.AC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORT 201621Smart Culture: Impact of the Internet on Artistic Creation