But I finally get Wiki

I recognize that I’m not doing a very good job selling myself as an early adopter of technology, but I must still confess that, in addition to blogs, I really didn’t get the hype around Wikipedia, at least…until now.

I understand the concept of empowering all netizens (how’s that for a dot-com buzzword) to contribute to an expanding knowledge base. I can grasp the benefits of a collaborative approach to building that knowledge base. And I fully appreciate the value of knowledge evolving over time.

What I didn’t get was based on my belief that the reliability of a reference tool – an encyclopedia for example – is a direct function of its authors’ credibility. And how do authors exhibit their credibility? Through their academic distinctions, their professional track record, and/or other experiences that demonstrate their relative exclusivity as subject matter experts.

Therein lies the problem; by its very nature Wiki can’t provide the exclusivity necessary to demonstrate credibility and reliability. It’s too…democratic.

And that’s when the light bulb went on (bear with me if you already know where I’m going with this).

The very element of Wiki that, in my mind, discounts its value as a reference tool is what makes it quite possibly the perfect medium for an entirely different purpose: policy development. Imagine if, instead of surprising the country with a $500-million handgun ban this week, the Liberals launched a Wiki policy forum, where the basic objectives (cut down on gun-related deaths) and constraints (minimize impact on civil liberties) of the intended policy were laid out, along with a skeleton of possible implementation options. Instead of costly focus groups, pollsters and policy analysts, leave it up to the people to shape public policy.

Sounds great in theory, but in practice it’ll be chaotic, right? I don’t know. But considering how disenchanted voters are with the coming election, coupled with election promises (like the handgun ban) that completely miss their mark, I’ve got to believe a smart campaign team would at least give it a try.