Encyclopaedia Britannica: Going the way of the wiki?

By Josh Lowensohn on 23 January 2009, 10:32am

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Encyclopaedia Britannica president Jorge Cauz said that the encyclopaedia's free, online version, Britannica.com, will soon be allowing user edits and additions to its pages. This system is not yet live, but according to the Herald should be within the next day or so.

Registered users will be able to make corrections, or add entirely new sections to encyclopaedia pages -- much like Wikipedia. The big difference, however, is that Britannica.com's editing and approval system will be managed by its own editors and contracted staff instead of power users. According to the Herald, Cauz is promising a 20-minute turnover on these edits, but that number could go up dramatically if the company cannot anticipate a large influx of edits at once.

Cauz also told the Herald that the big reason for the change is to improve Britannica's search-engine optimisation and dethrone Wikipedia from its current dominance on Google and other search engines. These edits will also trickle down into the print edition, benefiting those who purchase its 30-plus volume set.