Networked expertise in the Era of many-to-many Communication: On Wikipedia and invention

Damien Smith Pfister

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

This essay extends the observations made in E. Johanna Hartelius' The rhetoric of expertise about the nature of expertise in digital contexts. I argue that digital media introduce a scale of communication-many-to-many-that reshapes how the invention of knowledge occurs. By examining how knowledge production on Wikipedia occurs, I illustrate how many-to-many communication introduces a new model of "participatory expertise." This model of participatory expertise challenges traditional information routines by elevating procedural expertise over subject matter expertise and opening up knowledge production to the many. Additionally, by hosting multiperspectival conversations on Wikipedia, the participatory model of expertise introduces epistemic turbulence into traditionally tranquil encyclopedia culture.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)217-231
Number of pages15
JournalSocial Epistemology
Volume25
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2011

Keywords

  • Epistemic turbulence
  • Expertise
  • Invention
  • Many-to-many communication
  • Multiperspectivalism

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Philosophy
  • General Social Sciences

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