Digitization

How they do it: Traditionally, encyclopedias were publications spanning many invididual book volumes, and were out of date within a short time after publication. Wikipedia contributed to the demise of Britannica’s publishing model and medium: The 2010 version of the 15th edition, which spans 32 volumes and 32,640 pages, was the last printed edition; digital content and distribution has continued since then. In 2005, Nature published a peer review comparing 42 science articles from Encyclopædia Britannica and Wikipedia and found that Wikipedia’s level of accuracy approached that of Britannica.

Open Source

How they do it: Wikipedia started almost entirely open, anyone could create articles, and any Wikipedia article could be edited by any reader, even those who did not have a Wikipedia account. Modifications to all articles would be published immediately. Governance mechanisms were introduced when vandalism and manipulation of its content became a problem. In 2018, Wikipedia’s open source content database consisted of 2,5 billion individual edits to 50 million articles by 80 million users.

User Designed

How they do it: Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia based on a model of openly editable content is one of the most popular websites. All its content is created by its users. Time magazine stated that the open-door policy of allowing anyone to edit had made Wikipedia the biggest and possibly the best encyclopedia in the world and it was testament to the vision of Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s Founder.