Task 7 - Explore Wikipedia

On Wikipedia I created a username and added two links to the PVLD entry under the name pvheadland.

It's important that information professionals are aware of how online resources acquire their information. In the case of Wikipedia, I was able to create an account and edit an entry in under 5 minutes. Despite peer review processes, the information that I posted was immediately readable by online readers. If I chose to be malicious and wanted to post something incorrectly or hurtfully, I would have the ability to post that information and have it posted for worldwide consumption until that information was removed. Fortunately people for the most part are good-natured but nonetheless, Joe Q might be misinformed and accidentally post inaccurate information. Misinformation is a serious problem, especially in sources that are supposed to be informative in nature.
Simultaneously, the weaknesses of Wikipedia are also strengths. For example, its ability to cover all sorts of emerging subjects and things on the fly in a timely, non-peer review fashion is something that can not be done by a print publication that is published once a year.