Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2008-04-07/In the news

QR code scarf – A new generation of scarves are being developed that will contain QR codes, a small, bar code-esque block of pixels that, when photographed with a properly equipped camera phone, will show messages, or even websites. The idea of this code being woven into scarves came to Roger Fischer, chief of an internet and mobile phone converging company. He knows people who make scarves with "retro" game symbols – for instance, the Invaders alien – who thought the QR code would match the pattern. Since then, the scarves have sold incredibly well in Japan, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States – surprising considering the usual lag when it comes to mobile phone releases. A side project to this – Semapedia – features a different sort of code, rather originally called Semacode, on stickers which can link to Wikipedia pages to whatever it is stuck to. For example, one stuck to a pole on Gravelly Hill Interchange might take you to the Wikipedia page for Spaghetti Junction. One person even made a needlepoint pattern that took you to Pillow.

What to Do With Wikipedia – Wikipedia is now used by everyone, including many educated people, and this article ponders why Wikipedia is not recommended for use in an academic setting, yet it contains most of the information that you would be seeking. One of Wikipedia's advantages lies in its currency, but its method of producing content is antithetical to the academic tradition of peer reviewed articles written by trained people. The two extremes are not ideal: banning Wikipedia from the academic world will simply cause students to dismiss academics as being old-fashioned, while using Wikipedia only excludes students from better sources. The article argues that academia needs to embrace Wikipedia because it is part of the world in which students live: professors could participate in the generation of content, students could be taught about other online sources, and Wikipedia could be a tool to improve information literacy.

Other recent mentions in the online press include:

• Wiki Woman – US Democratic party presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have had their articles vandalised and the subject of edit wars.
• Phorm admits 'over zealous' editing of Wikipedia article – The technology company Phorm has admitted to making favourable edits to its Wikipedia article, apparently because its PR team was unaware of conflict of interest guidelines.
• Chinese openness to Wikipedia fleeting at best – Wikipedia appears to be unblocked in China in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic games, because of an IOC requirement of completely unfettered Internet access.
• NRI Vinod Khosla, wife give Wikimedia big boost – A co-founder of Sun Microsystems and his wife, the co-founder of a non-profit organisation that supports the creation of "flexbooks", have donated $500,000 to the Wikimedia Foundation.