December 15, 2001: Wikipedia Officially Launched

Wikipedia officially launched on January 15, 2001, fundamentally changing how people access and share knowledge. Founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, Wikipedia began as a complement to Nupedia, a more formal online encyclopedia with expert written articles. The wiki format allowed anyone to edit articles, creating a collaborative approach that quickly surpassed its predecessor. Today, Wikipedia stands as the largest and most popular general reference work on the internet with over 60 million articles in more than 300 languages.

The Revolutionary Wiki Concept

Wikipedia pioneered the use of wiki technology for building a comprehensive encyclopedia. Wiki software allows any visitor to create and edit pages using a simple web browser. This radical openness initially drew skepticism from academics and traditional encyclopedia publishers who questioned whether crowdsourced content could be accurate. Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger believed that collaboration among thousands of volunteers could create a knowledge base rivaling traditional encyclopedias. The wiki approach meant articles could be updated instantly when news broke, corrected immediately when errors appeared, and expanded continuously as knowledge grew. This flexibility gave Wikipedia enormous advantages over printed encyclopedias that required years between editions.

Explosive Growth and Expansion

Wikipedia grew at an astonishing rate during its first decade. The English Wikipedia reached 100,000 articles by January 2003, just two years after launch. By 2007, it surpassed 2 million articles. Today, the English Wikipedia alone contains over 6.7 million articles. Wikipedia expanded to hundreds of languages, with major editions in German, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese containing millions of articles each. Some language editions focus on topics particularly relevant to their cultures. The total article count across all Wikipedia language editions exceeds 60 million. This makes Wikipedia the largest encyclopedia in history by an enormous margin. The printed Encyclopedia Britannica contained only 40,000 articles when it ceased print publication in 2012.

How Wikipedia Works

Wikipedia operates as a nonprofit project of the Wikimedia Foundation established in 2003. The site contains no advertisements and relies entirely on donations from individuals and organizations. Annual fundraising campaigns ask readers to contribute small amounts to keep Wikipedia free and accessible. The operating budget exceeds 150 million dollars annually, funding servers, staff, and technical development. Anyone can edit most Wikipedia articles without creating an account, though registered users gain additional privileges. Thousands of volunteer administrators and experienced editors help maintain quality by reverting vandalism, resolving disputes, and enforcing policies. Wikipedia has detailed guidelines covering everything from verifiability and neutral point of view to citing sources and avoiding original research.

Controversy and Criticism

Wikipedia has faced ongoing criticism regarding accuracy, bias, and reliability. Early studies comparing Wikipedia to Encyclopedia Britannica found similar error rates, surprising critics who assumed crowdsourcing would produce inferior results. However, individual articles vary greatly in quality. Popular topics with many editors tend to be comprehensive and accurate. Obscure subjects may contain errors that persist for years. Politically controversial topics often feature edit wars between competing factions. Wikipedia has implemented increasingly strict verification requirements, requiring citations to reliable published sources. Articles lacking citations may be flagged or deleted. Academic institutions discourage students from citing Wikipedia directly, though many acknowledge it as a useful starting point for research.

Cultural Impact and Legacy

Wikipedia transformed how people find information and fundamentally changed the information economy. Before Wikipedia, general encyclopedias were expensive multi volume sets or subscription based online services. Wikipedia made comprehensive reference information free and universally accessible. The site receives over 18 billion page views monthly from people worldwide seeking quick facts, background information, and deep dives into specialized topics. Wikipedia influenced countless other collaborative projects and helped establish crowdsourcing as a viable production model. The site became a primary information source during breaking news events, with articles updated in real time. Wikipedia also changed how search engines work, with Wikipedia articles dominating results for factual queries. The project demonstrated that volunteers motivated by altruism and intellectual curiosity could create public goods rivaling or exceeding commercial products.

Challenges and Future

Wikipedia faces ongoing challenges including editor retention, diversity, and adapting to mobile access. The number of active editors has declined in recent years, raising concerns about long term sustainability. Most Wikipedia editors are male, creating potential bias in coverage. The Wikimedia Foundation works to recruit more diverse contributors and improve coverage of underrepresented topics. Mobile devices now account for most Wikipedia traffic, requiring ongoing technical adaptation. Wikipedia also competes with AI powered question answering systems and voice assistants that often draw information from Wikipedia but may not drive traffic back to the site. Despite challenges, Wikipedia remains one of the internet's most successful and influential projects, proving that collaborative volunteer efforts can create lasting value for humanity.