Hot off the wiki: Dynamics, practices, and structures in Wikipedia's coverage of the Tōhoku catastrophes

Brian Keegan*, Darren Gergle, Noshir Contractor

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

61 Scopus citations

Abstract

Wikipedia editors are uniquely motivated to collaborate around current and breaking news events. However, the speed, urgency, and intensity with which these collaborations unfold also impose a substantial burden on editors' abilities to effectively coordinate tasks and process information. We analyze the patterns of activity on Wikipedia following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami to understand the dynamics of editor attention and participation, novel practices employed to collaborate on these articles, and the resulting coauthorship structures which emerge between editors and articles. Our findings have implications for supporting future coverage of breaking news articles, theorizing about motivations to participate in online community, and illuminating Wikipedia's potential role in storing cultural memories of catastrophe.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages105-113
Number of pages9
DOIs
StatePublished - 2011
Event7th Annual International Symposium on Wikis and Open Collaboration, WikiSym 2011 - Mountain View, CA, United States
Duration: Oct 3 2011Oct 5 2011

Other

Other7th Annual International Symposium on Wikis and Open Collaboration, WikiSym 2011
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityMountain View, CA
Period10/3/1110/5/11

Keywords

  • Wikipedia
  • bipartite network
  • breaking news
  • collaboration
  • current events
  • emergent group
  • high tempo
  • network analysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science Applications

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