Wikipedia blackout sparks debate - video:

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia and other popular websites went dark on Wednesday (January 18) as search engine Google blotted its logo as part of protests to stop Internet piracy legislation being considered by the US Congress. The worldwide blackout came with a warning from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales who said, “Students, do your homework early!”

Social networks such as facebook and YouTube as well as great resources including Wikipedia and Wolfram-Alpha are here to stay so that educators must use them in the teaching process.

Many academics are posting great educational videos and materials online. The only problem is to sort the good ones from the rest and present them in an organized manner.

This effort is being done by: http://Utubersity.com which presents the best educational videos available on YouTube (including Statistics) in an organized, easy to find way to watch and learn.

They are classified and tagged in a way that enables people to find these materials more easily and efficiently and not waste time browsing through pages of irrelevant search results.

The website also enhances the experience using other means such as recommending related videos, Wikipedia content and so on.

There’s also a Spanish version called http://utubersidad.com

Forecasts for a “CHINESE SPRING” :: The Chinese government has been exceptionally shrewd at monitoring and restricting its citizens’ Internet use, so far. But Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales insisted in a presentation last week that China’s government can’t keep the information out forever.

http://www.wfs.org/content/forecasts-for-%E2%80%9Cchinese-spring%E2%80%9D

Wales predicted that Chinese Internet activism will eventually galvanize a mass general strike. Once mobilized, this mass uprising would shake the whole country and destroy the reigning Communist Party. “The new generation of bloggers, Wikipedians, people on Twitter, people on social networks—they are there and they are becoming stronger.

Here’s the podcast of Jimmy Wales’ speech ath the BBC sponsored Free Thinking Festival 2011

Wikipedia’s carbon footprint entry needs work.