Re: Re: wikiup for our photo data base (was Bulletin)
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: Re: Re: wikiup for our photo data base (was Bulletin)
  • From: T* J* <t*@orcon.net.nz>
  • Date: Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:02:41 +1300
Plant sites and other web sites exist despite of the Iris societies not 
because of them. They are not in competition they are filling a void 
that Iris societies did not cater to successfully or otherwise ignored. 
Books on Irises also "Seek a profit" and is Mr Pries suggesting we 
should ignore these as well?
The competitive aspect has been introduced now by the Iris Society 
redefining what some may think is its core business

Readers with reasonable memories would recall the days of print media 
when encyclopaedias where the fountain of knowledge. The biggest  
'Encyclopaedia Britannica' grew into a profitable enterprise whose 
product was regarded as the gold standard for accuracy and 
comprehensiveness. By 1990 sales revenues had reached US$650 million
Five years after this date EB was almost killed off by what most of its 
executives considered to be a joke, A partnership of Microsoft founder 
Bill Gates  and bottom dwelling Encyclopedia Funk and Wagnalls.The 
outcome was the incredible commercially successful 'Encarta'. In 1995 
'Encarta' gave real meaning to the term multi-media

In April 2009 Microsoft Corporation announced that at the end of 2009 it 
would close all of its Encarta Web Sites and its Press release stated 
"People today seek and consume information in considerably different 
ways than in years past. As part of Microsoft's goal to deliver the most 
effective and engaging resources for today's consumer, it has made the 
decision to exit the Encarta business."

Today Wikipedia has become the flavour of the moment in the digital 
knowledge world, "but would you bet the farm?" that this will be the 
digital medium in ten years time.
 
Has the board of the AIS approved the Wiki going Public??
Correspondence sent to me March 2009 stated with reference to AIS board 
minutes /"For example the original motion stated that the wiki will be 
within a AIS members only site and we will respect that. At some point 
we may or may not decide to have it open to anyone browsing the 
internet. But that decision will be made after we get something running 
and with the agreement of the board./" Has this changed??

I am not against the idea of a Iris Wiki (One already exists by the way) 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_%28plant%29> its just the premise 
that an Iris Encyclopaedia will "Save" the Iris Society is emotive deceit .

The story of Britannica is now a business-school case study on how 
rapidly competitors can emerge - apparently from nowhere - in a digital 
world.

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