Happy 10th Birthday Wikipedia, 15th January 2011. Updated 18th January 2011.

Posted by Celia Walter | 14 Jan, 2011

Wikipedia will celebrate its 10th anniversary this Saturday (Jan. 15, 2011) the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project has put together some material looking at Wikipedia usage in 2007 and 2010.

The percentage of all American adults who use Wikipedia to look for information has increased from 25% in February 2007 to 42% in May 2010. This translates to 53% of adult internet users.

Education level continues to be the strongest predictor of Wikipedia use. The collaborative encyclopedia is most popular among internet users with at least a college degree, 69% of whom use the site. Broadband use remains another predictor, as 59% of those with home broadband use the service, compared with 26% of those who connect to the internet through dial-up. Additionally, Wikipedia is generally more popular among those with annual household incomes of at least $50,000, as well as with young adults: 62% of internet users under the age of 30 using the service, compared with only 33% of internet users age 65 and older.

In the scope of general online activities, using Wikipedia is more popular than sending instant messages (done by 47% of internet users) or rating a product, service, or person (32%), but is less popular than using social network sites (61%) or watching videos on sites like YouTube (66%).

Complete Report (HTML)  PDF (9 pages)

Table: Demographics of Wikipedia users & Graph: Wikipedia users, 2007 - 2010

 

From The Resourceshelf  Resourceblog on the 10th anninversary of Wikipedia. Here are a few videos, articles, and lists from a variety of sources:

+ Video: "Decade of Thanks!" from Wikipedia Co-Founder Jimmy Wales

+ Happy 10th anniversary, Wikipedia! by Sue Gardner, Executive Directory, Wikimedia

+ Articles From Various Sources Compiled by Wikipedia's Director of Communications, Jay Walsh

+ "Wikipedia at 10: 'It's what the web is for'" (via The Telegraph)
An interview with Jimmy Wales.

+ "Wikipedia celebrates 10th anniversary" (via SF Chronicle)

+ Video/Text: "Jimmy Wales says Wikipedia too complicated for many" (via BBC News)

Lists

+ "The 10 Biggest Hoaxes in Wikipedia's First 10 Years" (via PC World, Network World)

+ "Top 10 Wikipedia Moments" (via Time)