Amazon takes Wikipedia pages shopping

Carolyn McCarthy CNET News | December 2, 2010 4:49 AM PST

Summary

Amazon has launched a new feature in the US that brings content from Wikipedia pages to its own servers.

Topics

Amazon.com Inc., Wikipedia, Wiki, Online Communications

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Amazon has launched a new feature in the US that brings content from Wikipedia pages to its own servers in a new project that appears to be called 'Shopping Enabled Wikipedia Pages.'

Hosted on the Amazon.com domain, the pages replicate Wikipedia's content but have added links to where a book can be purchased on Amazon. "Shopping-enabled Wikipedia pages are a new introduction on Amazon.com," Amazon spokeswoman Anya Waring told ZDNet UK's sister site CNET News when asked via email. "As of November, we have rolled [the feature] out in the books category; however, [it] will be expanding to new categories in 2011."Amazon image

The new feature is not the result of an official partnership, Waring explained. Amazon's use of the content is licensed under Creative Commons, the alternative to traditional copyright that Wikipedia uses for all of its user-sourced encyclopedia content. At the bottom of a 'Shopping Enabled Wikipedia Page', a message explains: "The article appearing above is from Wikipedia... The Wikipedia content may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence, version 3.0 or any later version."

For more on this story, read Amazon adds Wikipedia to book-shopping pages on CNET News.

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RE: Amazon takes Wikipedia pages shopping

freakqnc 6th Dec 2010

@nfordzdn Who's copying who? Plus the user-generated encyclopedia if I was going to find information available on wikipedia that is also available on other sites I would not be so incredibly outraged since it definitely a likely possibility and does not disturb me at all... at least not as much as people who are "not getting it" :P

Now to the topic's thread... how about Amazon showing some love and supporting (NOT BUYING OUT ;P) wikipedia? That'd be nice since Amazon is a for-profit site using content provided by a non-profit site. Fair is fair, right? ;P

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RE: Amazon takes Wikipedia pages shopping

wizoddg 2nd Dec 2010

Would be smarter for Wikipedia, perpetually short on funds, to have become affiliates with Amazon & others....comercial links to more data are not incompatible with Wikipedia's mission.

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Let me get this straight...

kidtree 2nd Dec 2010

So, Wikipedia, arguably the greatest resource for quick access to detailed information the world has ever known, is dangerously short of funds. Along comes Amazon, one of the richest, most successful retailers ever seen, and they've setup their computers to copy Wikipedia's content, essentially converting it to advertising copy, without any compensation to Wikipedia?
I understand and admire Wikipedia's openness toward use of its content, but for one of the world's riches companies to make such commercial use of it without any compensation is disgusting.
Or am I missing something?

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RE: Amazon takes Wikipedia pages shopping

thekohser 2nd Dec 2010

@kidtree Don't worry, kidtree. In late 2006, Amazon invested $10 million in Wikia, Inc., which is the for-profit enterprise co-founded by Jimmy Wales, who co-founded Wikipedia. So, Amazon has already paid its fealty money to the wiki machine. According to his chat transcripts with Rachel Marsden, all Jimbo's really interested in is getting himself paid first. The integrity of Wikipedia is a very distant concern of his.

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Thanks.

kidtree 2nd Dec 2010

@thekohser I was hoping to flush out someone with a little more depth of knowledge about all this. Thanks.

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RE: Amazon takes Wikipedia pages shopping

thekohser 2nd Dec 2010

@kidtree What evidence do you have that Wikipedia is "dangerously short of funds"? Every year, they stuff millions of dollars into the bank for a rainy day. You've sure swallowed a lot of bunk there, kid.

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RE: Amazon takes Wikipedia pages shopping

nfordzdn 2nd Dec 2010

I've noticed that when I Google for a subject, I get dozens of sites with the same text copied out of Wikipedia, which just wastes my time. I don't understand why Wikipedia thinks that simply copying their pages over and slapping ads on it is a good thing.