Information, free and simple
The Internet is a mystical place filled with elves and dragons and is particularly well known for hiding mysterious secrets of all shapes and sizes. Of these secrets, one of the more cleverly disguised and simultaneously practical is that of Wikipedia.
The oh-so-clever pun is a free, open-source, digital encyclopedia and can be found by adding ".com" to the end of its name. With editions in over 200 different languages and more than 1.6 million articles, it's quite the database. While the majority of the articles are in English, of comparable prominence are the German, French, Japanese and Swedish counterparts.
Wikipedia was formed in 2001 and has since grown in popularity, mostly due to its style of collaboration. Similar to the open-source movement among programmers, Wikipedia runs by wiki, which allows practically anyone, anywhere, to change any article, at any time. While there are editors and moderators to ensure accuracy and reduce vandalism, articles are updated by the general public, free of charge, without delay. This leads to a dual-edged sword, a balance between credibility and usability.
In recent years, Wikipedia has established itself as the dominant collection of general knowledge. While not as rich in conventional knowledge as a hard-back, traditional encyclopedia, it contains many topics that those same volumes ignore. Since the articles and topics are written, edited and maintained entirely by the general public, the vast majority of its database is geared toward that same audience—that is, the writing style and topics covered relate directly to those referencing it.
Along with success, however, has come controversy. Many accuse Wikipedia of being unreliable and biased. These complaints stem from the very nature of Wikipedia as an open, amateur source, leading to an accused deficiency of accountability and authority.
Wikipedia stands as an accomplishment of the Internet community. Through no other means could such a vast repository of information be compiled, mostly by complete donation of time and resources. Since its annual operating budget has recently hit seven figures, the wiki community—led mostly by those horrible, deviant sinners known as bloggers—has begun calling on international governments for support. They claim Wikipedia as an unheralded opportunity for free knowledge, a resource that has no equal and should be subsidized by the public, lest it be lost to all future generations.
Regardless of your personal viewpoint—and, as most of you probably hadn't heard of Wikipedia ten minutes ago, said vantage point is probably moot—there is no denying the usefulness of such a resource. For the sake of practicality, let's ditch the philosophical mumbo-jumbo of above and look at how Wikipedia can help the average college student.
To begin, the articles cover topics in surprisingly rich and accurate detail, similar to most traditional reference volumes. More importantly, though, they are written on a lower level, aimed at the average reader, and are completely cross-referenced—if a word or subject has the potential to be unfamiliar to the reader, it is more often than not linked to a related article.
For those using Firefox or Mozilla, there is a Wikipedia search engine which can be added to the Google search box in the upper-right corner. Click on the big, blue "G" and select "Add Engines..." The page that opens will have Wikipedia as one of the first options, and installing it will bring advanced, common and (albeit controversial) knowledge to the click of a mouse.
Lastly, let's not forget the reliability issue. Although less accurate and reliable than, say, the Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia is most likely a better source of information than an infomercial or mass media. With that said, I wouldn't recommend quoting this unofficial database in an upcoming research paper, although it might be a good place for a preliminary summary.