On the heels of TwitterVision and FlickrVision comes WikipediaVision, a real-time Google Maps mashup that shows where edits to the online encyclopedia are occurring: that is, where in the encyclopedia and where in the world. Wikirage (rhymes with “vicarage”) does a good job of showing what pages are most actively under revision, but WikipediaVision has the advantage of drawing your eye around a map.
Self-interest is alive and well… it’s fun to watch how well-correlated location and topic are. You can also click through on the “Diff” link and see the actual edit that was made. I watched a Canadian edit a page on New France, and drilled into it only to discover it was, quel horreur! an abusive edit. It was a contemporary anatomical reference having very little to do with New France. My wiki spectating was complete when I watched the editorial wound heal over in less than two minutes as someone (and their pet bot) came along and undid the vandalism. It was a very satisfying little drama. Wikipedia is a constantly boiling pot.
[via O’Reilly Radar]
Rambles Blog at Star Chamber 
There is a presentation by Fernanda Viegas and Martin Wattenberg of the IBM Visual Communication Lab entitled “Visualizing Wikipedia: A tale of life, love, and bureaucracy” tomorrow Thurs Nov 15th evening on MIT’s campus. For more information see this IEEE Boston Computer Society notice.