CZ:An extended introduction to the Citizendium

I'm going to be writing here "in real time" on the wiki a speech about CZ that I'll be delivering Thursday evening at Eastern Michigan State U. as part of a series organized by Marshall Poe. (I'll be speaking also on Friday--one session will be an introduction to how to use the CZ system, and that should be videotaped, so we might be able to use it!)

The constraints here are (1) the speech is for a university audience that, while familiar with the Internet (of course), is not particularly familiar with CZ; (2) 30 minutes (leaving plenty of time for Q&A); (3) should explain the specific advantages of the CZ system. I also want to make sure that CZ is not portrayed as merely a response to Wikipedia, but as something valuable in and of itself. Of course, I'll be unable to avoid mention of Wikipedia and I don't think it's necessary or desirable to entirely avoid mention.

So, how should CZ be introduced? One can look at it as a solution to a problem (fixing Wikipedia's problems). But it is better to look at it as the development of an exciting opportunity. --Larry Sanger

If it were five or ten years ago, and I were introducing my new wiki encyclopedia project, I would argue and explain at great length about the advantages of mass collaboration. I would explain how people can come together online from around the world and donate their labor to create something that everyone can access freely, and which is controlled by the contributors themselves. I would have to teach lessons about collaboration, bottom-up methods, and free content. But today, those lessons have been learned. Everybody knows what giant online communities can create, because everyone can see the results in Wikipedia, YouTube, and the many other community-built websites. That is the opportunity that the Citizendium project leverages.