I run several wikis myself and have found that a few people can do lots of collaborative work together. What’s interesting is why more people don’t contribute and participate. My theory is that Americans have little experience working collectively with other people. The projects that show off the DIY nature of the Internet, like Myspace, tend to rely on the self-interest of its participants.

Here’s something I wrote for the Boston Globe about Google Answers back in November 2002:

The cook, she’s name was Rosie / She cam’ from Mo’real / and was a chambermaid on a lumber barge / in the Grand Lachine Canal,” sings Rob Rexler, protagonist of Saul Bellow’s 1995 story “By the St. Lawrence.” He abruptly falls silent, and Bellow explains why: “Rexler had more than once thought of opening an office to help baffled people who could remember only one stanza of a ballad or song. For a twenty-five dollar fee you would provide the full text.”

Recent developments at the Internet search-engine company Google indicate that it was probably wise of Rexler to keep his day job. Last week saw the launch of Google Answers, a service which matches up baffled people with Google’s freelance cadre of “carefully screened Researchers.” When Ideas submitted Rexler’s query on Oct. 31, Researcher “Pinkfreud” turned up the full text of the dialect-poem-turned-folksong “The Wreck of the Julie Plante” within the hour.

The tune was put to wax in 1923 by Jimmy Rice, we learned – although Bellow may have had Nelson Eddy’s radio version in mind. Total price: two dollars, plus a 50-cent service charge.

Thanks for your interest in Uclue. Just one minor detail – there are 37 former GA Researchers at Uclue, not 200. However, they include the majority of the prolific researchers.

One interesting difference that might strike a chord with you is that Uclue researchers are able to freely write and talk about their experiences.

Regards,
Roger Browne
(eiffel at Uclue, eiffel-ga at GA)