Blogging through Wikipedia (2025)

1. Summary of the Readings and Experience For this post, I want to reflect on what I learned by engaging with Wikipedia — not just as a reader, but as someone who tried to edit and create content. Although I’ve used Wikipedia for years, I had never really thought about how it operates behind the scenes until I tried to contribute myself. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative encyclopedia built by volunteers around the world. Unlike traditional encyclopedias written by experts, Wikipedia allows anyone with internet access to create or edit entries — but this openness is guided by strict community rules. Through this experience, I realized that Wikipedia functions like a self-regulating ecosystem with its own norms, roles, and power dynamics. There are several key policies every editor must follow: neutral point of view, verifiability, and no original research. These principles ensure that Wikipedia articles reflect existing knowledge rather than personal opinions. Every claim needs a reli...

 Although I have completed my translation, I found that I still have a lot to learn. Language is the most basic and the most difficult part. Even though I am a native Chinese speaker, I cannot ensure that every sentence is perfect, not to mention that I learned Korean as an adult and I am not good at English at all. Although sometimes with the help of AI and other tools, we can understand different languages, but there are many things that humans cannot do with AI and tools. Humans need to give AI clear guidance and also need to judge whether what AI gives is correct. There is no end to learning languages, and there is no end to learning Wikipedia and other things.

 1.Abstract By chance, I participated in the editing of the Wikipedia entry "Guizhou Province". This process not only allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of this colorful land on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, but also made me rethink the issues of collaboration, authority and cognitive bias behind the public knowledge platform. 2.Interesting points Guizhou is one of the provinces with the highest proportion of ethnic minorities in China, but in the original entries, the content related to ethnic culture is a bit simple, especially the festivals, language usage scenarios, and costumes of the Dong and Miao ethnic groups are only briefly described. During the editing process, I tried to add "Dong Nationality Song" as an introduction to intangible cultural heritage, and then I realized that we often ignore these living cultures in mainstream narratives. Information on tourist attractions focuses on "scenery" and lacks "human touch" Fanjing Mounta...

  Initial Conceptualization At the beginning of the design, I comprehensively reviewed the park’s functional requirements. A park is not only a recreational venue but also a space for community interaction and ecological preservation. Based on this, I identified the key elements that must be clearly marked on the map: walking paths, playgrounds, fitness areas, picnic spots, water features, restrooms, parking lots, and information kiosks. Considering different visitor groups—for example, families with children who need easy access to playgrounds and restrooms, and joggers who focus on the length and continuity of paths—I aimed to create a map that balances practicality with different users’ browsing habits. Visual Design and Information Presentation To enhance the map’s visual recognition and usability, I paid special attention to color and symbol design. I chose green as the main tone to symbolize the park’s natural ecology, highlighted water features with bright blue, and emphasi...

  Case Selection: I began by searching online for representative advertising cases, focusing on those that had sparked controversy and clearly depicted the sexualization of young women. I reviewed several advertising media platforms and news commentaries, and ultimately selected a 2016 Calvin Klein advertisement as the subject of my analysis. Content Analysis: I analyzed the advertisement from multiple aspects, including the camera angle, the model’s posture, and the wording of the ad copy. Drawing on what I’ve learned—such as the theory of the “male gaze” and gender representation analysis—I systematically examined how the advertisement commodifies the female body and how it influences audiences of different genders and age groups. Analyzing the advertisement When analyzing the advertisement’s impact on audiences, I first considered it from the perspective of young girls. The ad conveys a dangerous message: “Sexiness equals value” and “being looked at is a way to gain recognitio...

 fter learning about Wikipedia, I’ve gained a few key insights: 1. Knowledge Can Be Shared and Co-created I used to think knowledge was something only teachers or experts had. But using Wikipedia showed me that anyone can contribute. It’s like a giant knowledge base built by people all over the world. Plus, it’s free and easy to use for research. 2. The Power of Collaboration Wikipedia isn’t written by just one person — it’s the result of many people working together. Although mistakes happen, the community usually corrects them over time. This shows how powerful collaboration can be when everyone contributes. 3. The Importance of Critical Thinking Even though Wikipedia is convenient, it’s not 100% authoritative, since anyone can edit it. So, it’s important to double-check facts and think critically instead of accepting everything at face value.

  “Jian Ye Building” and “ Soviet atrocities committed against prisoners of war during World War II ” Recently, I participated in translating two Wikipedia articles: Kian Yap Building and Soviet War Crimes Against Prisoners of War During World War II. This experience not only improved my language skills, but also deepened my understanding of architecture, history, and the complexities of cross-cultural communication. 1.  Kian Yap Building : A City’s Memory Encapsulated in Architecture While translating the Kian Yap Building article, I gained insight into the story behind this historical structure located in Guangzhou, China. The article included many architectural terms and references to local history, such as the development of the city during the Republic of China era and the building’s stylistic features. This made me realize that translation is not just about converting words from one language to another—it’s about conveying culture and context. The building represents mor...

  1. What did I do in this project? In this project, my team member and I took on the challenge of living for one full day without using any technologies from the 20th and 21st centuries. This meant completely avoiding modern communication tools such as smartphones, laptops, TVs, and the internet. We also gave up household appliances like electric cookers, microwaves, water heaters, and washing machines, as well as modern transportation tools and services like electronic maps and bus cards. Our goal was to simulate a kind of "slow life" and experience how people might have lived before the technological revolution. We prepared pens and paper in advance and agreed to record our feelings, activities, and challenges every two hours. The next day, we held a team discussion to compare our experiences, highlight common issues, and reflect on what we had learned. The day was filled with both challenges and discoveries. We used candles for light, cooked meals manually, navigated by a...

 This semester’s learning gave me a whole new understanding of Wikipedia. At first, I simply saw it as a convenient tool for looking up information and never really thought about how it actually worked. But as the course progressed, I began to realize that Wikipedia is more than just an “encyclopedia”—it’s a knowledge-building system powered by global collaboration and guided by strict rules. What surprised me most was learning that it’s not written by experts, but by anyone who is willing to contribute. This openness is effectively regulated through policies like requiring reliable sources and maintaining a neutral point of view. I also discovered the "Talk" pages behind each article, where contributors engage in detailed discussions about wording, terminology, and source credibility. It made me realize that knowledge isn’t just something we receive—it’s something that is actively created and refined by people working together. While Wikipedia has its flaws, such as slower u...

  Summary Wikipedia can be considered a good news website, especially for readers who want quick access to reliable background and evolving information. While it does not create original news content, it compiles facts from trustworthy sources and updates them rapidly. In many breaking news situations, Wikipedia offers organized summaries before some traditional media outlets do. Interesting Point One major strength of Wikipedia is its collaborative nature. Because thousands of volunteers around the world can edit and improve articles in real time, Wikipedia can reflect developments faster than many official sites. It also includes detailed citation lists, allowing readers to trace claims back to original news sources. In this way, it acts as both a news aggregator and an educational tool. Reflection In my opinion, Wikipedia serves as a valuable news platform, especially when used alongside traditional media. Its real-time updates and global coverage make it particularly usefu...

This semester, we took a deeper look into the platform of Wikipedia. To be honest, I had always seen it as just a convenient tool for looking things up or quickly gathering background information for assignments. I never really thought about how it actually works. But through this course, I started to seriously examine what’s behind Wikipedia—where its content comes from, who writes it, how neutrality and accuracy are maintained, and how it manages to update information so quickly when something new happens. What surprised me the most was learning that Wikipedia isn’t written by experts for the general public—it’s a platform that anyone can edit and contribute to. That kind of openness sounds risky at first, but I learned that it’s actually governed by a fairly strict set of rules, like requiring reliable sources, avoiding personal opinions, and maintaining a neutral point of view. These guidelines help ensure the overall quality of the articles. One thing that really stood out to me w...

To be honest, I’ve never really thought of Wikipedia as a news site. It’s not like traditional media—it doesn’t have reporters, firsthand coverage, or push out breaking headlines. But I’ve realized that as I consume news more and more, I’ve also become more dependent on Wikipedia. I don’t go to Wikipedia to check what “just happened.” It won’t tell me who said what today or give me the latest updates right away. So if I simply want to know what’s going on, I still turn to news websites first. But the problem is, news sites often only show the surface of an event. I often find myself reading a news article and realizing I don’t actually understand the background behind it. That’s when I open up Wikipedia. For example, if I come across a political figure I don’t know, a protest I’m unfamiliar with, or a policy I’ve never heard of, Wikipedia can quickly tell me the full story—context, history, related events, and key people involved. Sometimes I click from one article to another and end u...

 A lot of people use Wikipedia to look things up, but not many actually contribute to it. I was the same—until one of my classes required us to either create or edit a Wikipedia article. At first, I just wanted to get the assignment done, but the process ended up changing the way I think about knowledge and information. 1. It’s not about what you know , but what you can prove When I first started editing, I thought as long as I knew the content and could explain it well, I’d be fine. But I quickly hit a wall. One of the core rules of Wikipedia is verifiability . You can’t just say, “This actor is really good.” You need to back it up with sources—like reviews from reliable media or published interviews. If not, your edits might get deleted or flagged. That made me realize: writing isn’t just about expressing your thoughts—it’s about building an argument with solid evidence. Honestly, it felt like academic writing, but in a stricter and more public setting. 2. Writing “neutrally”...

This semester, I had a chance to do something quite different: I worked on writing and translating two English Wikipedia articles—one on Chinese Air Force History , and the other on Hong Kong Historiography . The two topics couldn’t be more different—one is military history, the other is about academic writing and historical narratives. Both were challenging in their own ways, but I learned a lot from the process. I thought it was just translation—but it was way more than that At first, I thought my job was just to translate from Chinese to English. But once I started, I realized it’s not just about changing languages—it’s about understanding the content deeply and then expressing it in a clear, neutral, and accurate way. For Chinese Air Force History , I had to sort through timelines, technical terms, and sometimes even conflicting sources. For Hong Kong Historiography , the challenge was understanding academic debates and the political undertones behind how history is written. Litera...

  Summary（ Nanko Historical and Geographical Society - Wikipedia ， Taiwan Biancha Liuyu - Wikipedia ） I created and published two English Wikipedia articles: Taiwan Biancha Liuyu and Nanko Historical and Geographical Society . These were original entries that required not only writing and structuring the content but also conducting source validation, inserting citations, categorizing properly, and linking relevant concepts within Wikipedia. I drafted both articles offline first, carefully reviewing the notability and verifiability standards before uploading them. Throughout the process, I ensured compliance with Wikipedia’s manual of style, and I continue to monitor the articles for community edits and feedback. Interesting Points Creating new articles rather than translating existing ones was both challenging and rewarding. It was exciting to contribute original entries to a global knowledge platform like Wikipedia. I particularly enjoyed the research phase—sourcing reliable r...

  What I Did   （ Qiu Hongda        Suicide of Xi Shangzhen ） Over the past few weeks, I translated two Chinese Wikipedia articles into English: one about Qiu Hongda , a Chinese dissident known for his public statements, and the other about the Xi Shangzhen suicide case , a tragic incident that sparked social debate. This task went beyond simply converting words between languages. I had to interpret meaning, ensure neutrality, and present the information clearly to an English-speaking audience unfamiliar with the context. I also worked on formatting references, organizing the structure, adding appropriate links, and selecting relevant categories to help the articles meet Wikipedia’s editorial standards. What I Found Meaningful This experience gave me a deeper appreciation for the role of translation in making knowledge more accessible. Although I was working with existing material, transforming it into something readable and informative in another la...

  summary： Medical research progress is rapid, but Wikipedia's medical entries are updated slowly, which may influence public health decisions. For example:   COVID-19: During the early stages of the pandemic, Wikipedia was frequently updated, but later updates on vaccines, variants, and other information lagged behind.   New Drugs and Therapies: Entries for certain anticancer drugs or gene therapies do not reflect the latest clinical trial results.The development of the tech industry is rapid, with knowledge in fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and blockchain updating at an incredibly fast pace. However, many of Wikipedia's tech articles are still stuck at versions from several years ago.The limitations of the volunteer editing model, while Wikipedia relies on global volunteer editors, have led to a decline in the number of editors: active editors have decreased since 2007, resulting in inadequate maintenance. Professional knowledge barriers are ...

 Summary: In the process of translating Wikipedia articles, I not only practiced the language, but also gained a lot of unexpected knowledge and insights. The following are the three gains I have summarized. And some interesting ideas and reflections encountered in the process. Interesting points: At first, I thought translation was just about comparing English with the original text and turning it into Chinese, but when I did, I realized it was far from simple. The structure and logical sequence of English sentences differ significantly from those in Chinese, and directly translating them would appear stiff or even disjointed. Sometimes, I have to break the original sentence structure, reorganize the word order, and even delete or supplement information without changing its meaning. The most interesting time was translating an entry on ancient astronomy, which used many Latin roots. It took me a great deal of effort to find the corresponding Chinese vocabulary, as if I were doing ...

Translating for Wikipedia has exposed me to a wide range of knowledge in fields that I would not normally have access to. For example, translating articles in cutting-edge scientific fields such as artificial intelligence and neuroscience has allowed me to learn not only the jargon, but also the latest research trends in these fields. At first, I felt stuck as I wrestled with unfamiliar concepts, but with each sentence and paragraph I completed, I felt a sense of accomplishment, like I was putting together a huge puzzle of knowledge. The biggest thing I learned from this process was the importance of being open to new fields and the importance of continuous learning. Translating Wikipedia pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me the joy of exploring new information with curiosity. Editing Wikipedia has taught me the importance of accuracy and objectivity in information. It's not just about paraphrasing, it's about clarifying sources and presenting information in a neutral...

  A German home improvement supply company, Hornbach, sparked controversy with an advertisement in which a white man sexually objectifies an Asian woman. Men are shown breathing heavily while working in a garden. Then, they remove their sweat-soaked clothes and throw them to people dressed in lab coats. These collected clothes are vacuum-packed and transported. The scene transitions to a young Asian woman in front of a vending machine in a city. She buys one of the packages, quickly opens it, and, smelling the underwear, shows an ecstatic expression. Then a subtitle appears in German: "This is the smell of spring.“   1. What message does this image send to young girls about sex?   Internalization of sexual objectification: This advertisement may send the message to young girls that they can be perceived as sexual objects. Images in which women are primarily portrayed as objects of sexual desire or consumption can plant distorted expectations about appearance and s...