[Foundation-l] Software idea: a "Wikipedia Explorer" that lets you browse Wikipedia and more

Tue Dec 27 22:08:25 UTC 2011

The idea behind this program idea is that I have long felt Wikipedia is not
just an encyclopedia; it's the biggest "ontology" (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology_(information_science) ) ever made on
the Web. Just like GPS (Global Positioning System) gives every location in
this world a unique set of coordinates, Wikipedia gives every concept in
this world a unique ID (which is the concept's Wikipedia article title);
and Wikipedia's link structure can guide you to navigate to a concept even
if you initially don't know the concept's name. Put another way, just like
DNS (Domain Name System) can resolve a domain name to an IP address,
browsing Wikipedia can resolve a felt concept in your mind to a unique
"address" for that concept (which is the concept's Wikipedia URL).

So Wikipedia is an infrastructure for topic identification and navigation
just like GPS is an infrastructure for location identification and
navigation, and upon this platform there can be a rich ecosystem of
topic-oriented apps. It can revolutionize how people announce and find
stuff (currently we use Google and keywords to announce and find stuff,
like products, but you know keywords have their own limitations, such as
the synonym problem and the problem of catching a complex concept with
keywords, while Wikipedia can always give you a unique ID for your felt
concept, no matter how complex it is).

On Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 5:30 AM, Gregory Varnum <admin at wikiqueer.org> wrote:

> I tend to agree that MW focus should be on the web applications -
> including mobile.  However a free (and ad-free) third-party Adobe AIR app
> that integrates new web features with services offered by other sites in
> ways not otherwise allowed by WMF policies - might be interesting for folks
> that enjoy browsers like Flock and such (which I know is a surprisingly
> large audience)
>
> I'm not personally that socially oriented (beyond sharing things on FB,
> Twitter and G+) - so chat and such wouldn't interest me personally.  As far
> as the app experience, I do occasionally use Mac OS X Dictionary's ability
> to browse Wikipedia from time to time.  That pretty much fills that void
> for me the few times a year I feel it.
>
> -greg aka varnent
>
>
>
> On Dec 27, 2011, at 4:15 PM, John Du Hart wrote:
>
> > I personally would prefer to see such new features added directly to
> > Wikipedia instead of focusing on another product. Remember, this is 2012,
> > we don't need dedicated software for most things anymore.
> >
> > On Tue, Dec 27, 2011 at 4:01 PM, Yao Ziyuan <yaoziyuan at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Remember there was MSN Explorer (desktop software) that let you browse
> MSN
> >> and use MSN services such as Hotmail?
> >>
> >> Remember Google Earth (desktop software) that lets you browse the Earth
> and
> >> provides additional services based on the Earth?
> >>
> >> We can also make a "Wikipedia Explorer" (desktop software) that lets you
> >> browse Wikipedia AND provides an added layer that enables users to:
> >>
> >> * Chat/discuss with other users interested in the same topic (Wikipedia
> >> article).
> >> * Announce/find resources related to a topic (products, books, jobs,
> >> anything).
> >> * More.
> >>
> >> I intend to see such a "Wikipedia Explorer" developed, or personally
> >> develop it. Any comments?
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org
> >> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > John
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>
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