Link to long radio interview here. Tapscott basically goes on about how wikis are a some kind of uber lifeform with the combined intelligence of millions of brains and how no mistake or piece of vandalism ever survives on Wikipedia because the editors are so devoted and intelligent

EDIT: mp3 podcast version here (11MB)

Bump ...in case anyone might want to listen.

Tapscott's book sits on my nightstand, gathering several months' worth of dust. I got a couple of chapters into it, then just got bored. Nothing against Tapscott's writing, but just what he was saying is already way too familiar to me.

He spouts the usual stuff we hear about collaborative information, but I just wasn't impressed. You know, in 1986, my college student center had a bulletin board called the "Ride Board". Since automobiles were not ubiquitous among our student body, people with cars could post notes about when and where they were heading, seeking riders for company and to share gas costs. People needing a ride could post a note to that effect, too.

Nobody wrote a book about this dynamic, constantly fluid and changing board, even though the results (many dozens of people finding long-distance carpool solutions every semester) were quite impressive. Wikipedia really ain't that much different than the Emory University Ride Board. I just wish they'd stop calling it an encyclopedia and call it for what it is -- a collaborative message board.

BBC Host: "[Wikipedia is a] raging cauldron of change..."
Tapscott: "...the result is spectacular."

Tapscott's selling books. Thus, this interview violates WP:COI. Done.

Greg