The concept that I stands out to me most from the Nardi O’day piece in relation to Wikitravel is the concept of co-evolution. This site is one that thrives on the knowledge of people all over the world. It takes what at least some people already know, and makes it available to an audience that might never have seen the information. The introduction of this information will help the global community grow and evolve in a couple of ways. First it increases our knowledge in general about various places and options that we have. Second it connects us on a deeper level. By reading entries posted by people who have actually lived in an area, we see a side to the place that might not end up in a standard travel brochure. We see what is important to the people. Third, it increases our opportunities to make information about our own areas known.
The point of co-evolution, however, is that as one aspect grows, it will in turn trigger growth in the other. As people add to this site, contributing to all that I listed above, the site will have opportunities to grow. The more people use it, the more useful a tool it will become. The more useful a tool it is, the more people will add to it, helping the site to grow and evolve. Also as our understanding about other cultures increases, I could see the site evolving from not only placing places and prices, but cultural facts and information for a traveler. This will continue to increase understanding in people, evolving us into a more global community, and the more global we are, the more we will contribute. We will evolve together, each making the other stronger as time goes on.
I do believe that this site is one that will increase our awareness of others. It has the potential to do so in many ways, some of which I stated above. I don’t believe that this is a definite direction the site will go in, I just see the potential for it to do so. It could also go in the direction of sites like facebook, which have the potential for so much good, connecting people all over the world, but which also has the possibility to alienate. Hurtful information is often posted on sites like that, or on Campus ABC and such. If the moderation of wikitravel is not carefully observed it could turn into a site that carries stereotypes, and unfounded information if it were to go into the direction of cultural information in addition to the travel info, because it is people from all over the world posting and that will include all of the current ignorance and bias that may exist at the current moment.
Well thought and well written, Valerie. Indeed, sites like Wikitravel have the potential to promote both positive and negative change within the world. As those who care about writing, it is our job to show people who to use those tools in a postive, healthy, and respectful way! Again, well done.
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