User:Asmwp
I have been an active member of the Wikipedia community since 2005 but am only just now [Spring 2012] attempting to organize a more systematic approach to the potential and promise of everything Wikipedia represents.
I would recommend that emergent wikipedians finding themselves in a similar position treat themselves to the works of Susan Cain, if they have not already. Susan Cain is the author of the NYT Bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts.
Her argument is that postmodern society has overemphasized the importance of the extrovert's personality style and, in so doing, egregiously marginalized the important role that introverts play in the emergence of prosperity economics.
We need introverts NOW, Cain argues, and all we have to do, essentially, is recognize their value and importance and give them the kind of safe cognitive space they need to flourish and prosper.
In the contemporary information ecology, there are two technology families that correspond, perfectly the two style:
- Social Media: Facebook, Google+, Twitter and YouTube (extrovert ecologies)
- Content Management Systems (CMS): WordPress and Wikipedia (introvert ecologies).
Although this dichotomy may seem reminiscent of The Tortoise and the Hare, this is not Cain's argument and neither is it mine. Both personality styles work in unison to create a robust paradigm for social and economic evolution and the same can be said for the aforementioned technologies.
I would recommend that anyone who is interested first explore Cain's website, where she links to all the tubes of her talks, all the articles that have been written about her and all the articles she herself has written.
Needless to say, I also highly recommend everyone read her book - but don't miss her Leaders@Google presentation, followed by her TEDtalk.