JESS3 Visualizes The State of Wikipedia So Far

Wikipedia’s one of those websites that you couldn’t imagine the online world without, so rapid and all encompassing has its rise been. As an online resource for just about anything, it can’t be beat. And despite outcries regarding its level of accuracy, for something that’s completely free and edited by volunteers, it doesn’t do badly, you just need to make sure you cross check your references and sources.

Plus, you can’t rule out its influence in popularising the term “wiki” online, as well as embracing all the qualities everyone admires and champions about the web, like openness and crowd-sourcing, as well as some of its weaknesses like an increased tolerance for error and privacy invasion. As for its ubiquity, well, if you type practically anything in to Google, it’ll usually bring a Wikipedia entry up as the first source, or at least in the top ten. And this year sees it celebrating its 10th anniversary; where it will be in another 10 years, or how many pages or subjects it’ll cover, is anyone’s guess. In the animated infographic above, called The State of Wikipedia, creative agency and masters of data visualization JESS3 take in a potted history of its origins, its inner-workings, and where its future lies.