The masses, composed of large contributors and minimal contributors, make up Wikipedia. So it makes sense if I were to say that Wikipedia is the measuring stick for all things popular and valid to the world. A statement that spoke volumes to me from chapters 5, 6, and 7 in “Here Comes Everybody” was that Wikipedia and all wikis, grow if enough people care about them, and they die if they don’t.
When I read that statement, I thought back to a Wikipedia page I saw once and it was about an unsigned singer that was solely featured on YouTube but only I knew about him and a small group of my friends knew about him so I was very surprised to see that he had made it on Wikipedia. It made me think that there may be a larger following of him than I had believed. Then I checked today, and the article no longer exists. This is when I realized that Wikipedia could easily be seen as the measuring stick for all things popular (and valid) to the world. The majority of the world is not aware of some things and therefore, the Wikipedia page remains without a large defending and supporting crowd, leading to its eventual disappearance.
Is Wikipedia the new judge of what is popular and valid in the world?
