The information age

One of the newest trends in the sharing of information is through massive social collaboration.  The shining example of this new form of technology is wikipedia.  Wikipedia has many benefits over the traditional forms of publication and encyclopedias, but is also accompanied by many risks.  One of the greatest benefits to wikipedia is that it is constantly evolving to include some of the most up to date information.  Another benefit is that it is easily accessable and easy to use.  Unfortunately along with the great benefits and innovation of wikipedia, there are also risks that accompany this new technology, of which many people are unaware.  The greatest of these risks is the possibility of inaccurate information with no accountability.  Wikipedia allows all of its users to contribute to its pages, this includes both the experts and the idiots, with no one being accountable for the information shared.  Another weakness inherant to a system such as wikipedia is inconsistancy in writting style.  Because there are often many authors to a single article, the writting style is often inconsistant and sometimes even confusing.  There are many benefits to a system such as wikipedia but these benefits are equally accompanied by risks and weaknesses.