Chartreuse wrote a great post called The New Hotness (Or the Encyclopedia Britannica's Guide To Becoming Internet RoadKill) on the Know More Media blog, and he's right on.
Every time something new and revolutionary comes along, some refuse to acknowledge it, others cast it off as a fad, and some attack it in the most virulent terms. Those who refuse to acknowledge it are preoccupied with day to day routine and unable to see it coming. Those who cast it off as a fad at least have the ability to see a larger picture, but stand to lose more because they discard that potential foresight. The third group loses the most, because, by attacking the new and so firmly planting themselves against it, they establish themselves as anti-new, and therefore, stiff, resistive, and out of touch.
Britannica has just joined that third group. By virulently attacking Wikipedia, they've planted themselves on the wrong side of the line, and by taking so long to do so, they've made Nature's case better than Nature could. In business, and education, you must be fast, know who you're competing with, and be agile. The bottom line is, I used Wikipedia this morning, and I can't remember the last time I used Britannica.
by Stewart Mader
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