Nintendo Wii and Retirees

It's not every day there's a story that highlights the positive effects that video games can have on people, so that's why this article about the Nintendo Wii becoming popular in retirement communities is interesting. Retirees are praising the system for things like its social aspects, competition factor, and the exercise that is involved. It is somewhat ironic that these retirees, mostly aged 65 and above, are taking a liking to video games but that shows that there are definitely positive benefits that go along with video games and especially more interactive video games like the ones provided for the Wii. Games on the Wii give people a chance to do things that they may not be able to do as much anymore due to old age or other factors, and it gives them a much-needed sense of enjoyment. Of course, if it is possible, they should really get outside and play tennis, but if something is preventing them from doing that then the Wii seems to be and acceptable alternative.

Reducing Anonymity on Wikipedia

This CNN article discusses a recent move by Wikipedia to ask a writer who claims to be an expert for their credentials before they can post or edit an article. The move comes after it was discovered that a "high-ranking member of Wikipedia's bureaucracy" who was really a college dropout pretended he was a college professor and claimed to have a Ph.D. in Religion. Wikipedia recognizes that anonymity is a huge reason for the website's success so they were explicit in saying that this new move does not mean that regular users cannot remain anonymous. Jimmy Wales, the creator of Wikipedia, says that it is intended to "give a positive incentive rather than absolute prohibition, so that people can contribute without a lot of hassle." This must add more substance to the argument that Wikipedia is not a valuable source of information since virtually anybody can post or edit articles. The actions of this high-ranking member only prove that given the veil of anonymity, there is a high chance for fraud since there are really no penalties. If this man could so easily lie about his life, what's to stop him from being wrong about certain topics or posting incorrect information? Do you think Wikipedia is correct in taking steps to force people who claim to be experts on a certain subject to provide proof of their claims? Or does this go against the user-oriented philosophy that has made Wikipedia such a huge success?

Online Book Browsing

Book publishers like Random House and HarperCollins are using a new service called Insight to post up more than 5000 of its books on the Internet. These companies are hoping that the ability to browse various titles online will raise interest in books and drive people to read more of the books it publishes. They are also adding a feature that allows people to add information to their profiles on social networking sites. It looks like these publishers are trying to increase their revenue by delving deep into the market where young people are most likely to be. It's better for people to be reading books even if they are doing this electronically, and I think this move to post up more books for preview can help boost revenue and interest in book reading. It enables people to preview many different kinds of books and if they find it interesting, they can buy the book to read the whole thing. When searching for books on Amazon.com, I came across a book that was not required for a class, but after reading the first few pages I found it interesting enough to buy so there is a good chance this marketing scheme can work well. I am under the impression that this move by Random House and HarperCollins will provide more comprehensive and numerous previews of books than on Amazon.com, for example, where limited previews are available.