Wikipedia: Editing Pages
- GroovyHayley
- Apr 29, 2022
- 3 min read
There are currently over 43 million users registered on the English Wikipedia. Introduced into the world on January 15th, 2001, Wikipedia is an extremely popular online encyclopedia. The company name itself is derived from wiki (Hawaiian for "quick") and encyclopedia.
Known as the world's only major website run by a non-profit organization, Wikipedia has been ranked the 8th most visited site around the globe. Out of the current 43 million registered users, approximately 125,000 have made an edit within the last 30 days. I can proudly say that I am one of them.
I chose to edit the Wix Wikipedia page, and was surprised to see that the last edit was made April 26th, 2022. I find it fascinating how the Wikipedian community comes together to ensure different pages stay up-to-date and as accurate as possible.
When browsing through the Wix page on Wikipedia, I noticed that the information regarding the website was only updated to 2021. Switching over to the Wix talk page, I explained which page edit I wanted to make to the other collaborators.
Receiving no response, I proceeded with my edit. After researching about Wix, I discovered that they currently have over 200 million registered users worldwide. That is a significant increase from the 35 million registered users that were reported in August, 2013.
After viewing the out-of-date information surrounding the number of registered users on Wix worldwide, I knew what I needed to edit. I needed to update the page with more recent user data. Scrolling down to the product development section, I clicked "edit source".
As I finished writing the code for the edit, I felt proud that I was contributing to a Wikipedia page. More work goes into creating and editing Wikipedia pages than people may initially believe. I revised my edit and hit preview, and after everything looked perfect, I hit publish.
My Wix page edit on Wikipedia (in blue)
Wix page revision history on Wikipedia
It amazes and also worries me how easy it is to edit on Wikipedia. Despite the risk of misinformation within the cite, I really love the concept behind the website. Wikipedia has even taken measures to decrease misinformation by implementing a "universal code of conduct" focused on eradicating manipulation, abuse, and misinformation.
Creating my own edit has changed my view on Wikipedia. It has made me become even more appreciative of the website and the Wiki community. I also have gained even more respect for one super-user on the site known to be responsible for an estimated 1/3 of all Wikipedia pages.
Steven Pruitt has created over 33,000 different Wikipedia pages. On top of that, he has also made over 4.6 million edits throughout the site. Thankfully, his hard work didn't go unnoticed and in 2017, he was named one of the top 25 most important Internet influencers by Time magazine.
In my opinion, Wikipedia is completely unique and used by almost everyone at some point. Whether you are researching a certain type of flower or professional sports team, Wikipedia always seems to have the answers to your questions. After all, it is the largest encyclopedia ever created.
Even though the website is disliked by educators, it has the power to teach students critical thinking skills, as well as learn about peer review, footnotes, internet research, and sourcing. Wikipedia also brings users together and is an amazing representation of what can come from one motivated community banding together to provide information for others.
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