Ten Wikipedia Hacks

When something's working, you stick with it. My series of social media hacks (RSS, Technorati, blogging) has been such a hit, I am going to keep it going! So, with that in mind, here are 10 hacks that will help you get more out of your favorite reference site and mine - Wikipedia!

1) Create a User Account to Gain Access to Additional Features
Wikipedia is an open source encyclopedia with 800,000+ articles that anyone can read or write to anonymously without the need to register. However, there are enormous benefits to registering. These include: nice watch lists you can save, a selection of site skins, and much more. Check out this killer skin!

2) Use Wikipedia's Keyboard Shortcuts
Wikipedia is a Web 2.0 site, so naturally it has a boatload of killer keyboard shortcuts that use the ALT key on Windows or the Control key on the Mac. For example: “ALT E” on Windows edits an article, control H on the Mac opens an article's history, “ALT T” shows discussions and so on. If you log in and create a Wikipedia account you get lots of other shortcuts as well.

3) Search Wikipedia the AJAX Way
I don't know about you, but I am Mr. Instant Gratification man. I don't want to wait for Wikipedia to load a page with search results when I query. I want to search AJAX style - like Google Suggest. Well, using this page, you can baby!

4) Take Wikipedia to Go
It happens to me all the time. I want to settle a bet right here and now while I am having the argument. Once in awhile I would open up my celly and use Google SMS to settle the score, but that became cumbersome after a while. Now I Wapedia-it on my Treo. Wapedia is a mobile version of Wikipedia that works in any WAP-capable browser or even on a PDA! It's available in multiple languages too!

5) Hey, Your Wikipedia is in my Firefox!
Yup. You can easily add Wikipedia to Firefox in a couple of ways. The easiest is by adding a bookmarklet (this works in other browsers as well). The second easiest is a Firefox search plug-in that searches the encyclopedia using Google. Click here to install it. The ultimate is to move up to this Firefox extension. Boo ya! There are also Konfabulator widgets and a Mac OS X Dashboard widget too.

6) A Stitch of Searching with A9 Saves Time
Using A9, Amazon.com's search engine, you can search Wikipedia and Google at the same time! Just make sure the proper boxes are checked at the top. Add a check for blogs and you get a trifecta!

7) Track Wikipedia Using Wikipedia
Forget the information that's in Wikipedia. The whole freakin' Web site is a fascinating animal onto itself! There's lots of great tools that you can use to track it. For example, this page lists real-time statistics including the number of articles and edits to date. Did you know that each article has an average of 11 edits? Or this page shows the list of registered Wikipedians by the number of edits they have made. Last but not least, there's traffic data and lists of press mentions to boot.

8) Connect Articles and Places with Placeopedia
Placopedia marries Wikipedia and Google Maps in a Web of AJAX goodness. Using Placeopedia you can map people, places and things. For example, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry or Rotorua, New Zealand.

9) Save Trees with Printable Articles
Every Wikipedia article has a toolbox in the left hand margin. There are lots of cool gizmos here including a backlinks link, a pointer to related changes and more. My favorite, however, is the printable version tool. Look how nice and clean this page is! Ed Begley Jr. would be proud.

10) Play Six Degrees of Wikipedia!
Last but not least, who remembers the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon meme? The idea here is that virtually every actor or actress can be connected to Kevin Bacon in less than six degrees. Well, you can also play Six Degrees of Wikipedia. Using this site you can find the shortest path between any two Wikipedia articles in the main namespace using wiki links. For example, it's not hard to connect the devil and Bill Gates (three degrees) or Jesus and John Lennon (six hops)!

Technorati Tags: A9, Hacks, Placeopedia, Web2.0, Wikipedia

Comments

[Robert Gladstein]

How are you with JS, Steve? I like the FF bookmarklet, but it seems to be set up to open the results of the search in a new window while leaving the focus on the original one. Any idea how I can change the code to get it to open in an unfocused tab instead?

[David Rossiter]

And John Lennon to Jesus is just four...

[Martin]

Thanks Steve,

Esoecially liked the bookmarklet for Firefox - a real time saver.

[Killjoy]

Hey, big boy, where's number seven?

[Steve Rubel]

Robert, my earlier post on bookmarklets may have one that's more suitable for you.

I also changed the post. I had two #6s and no lucky #7.

[WS]

For no. 3, searching wikipedia, wikiwax is much better. It has no advertisements and the order of words doesn't matter.

www. wikiwax.com

[Jaap Vermeulen]

Check out these navigational popups.

Using them, you can simply hover over a link and it will show you the first paragraph of the article.

[Nicole Simon]

Keyboard shortcuts - except, that they (as usual) interfere with my menue shortcuts.

I don't mind using them, if I choose to, but having those on by default without being able to switch off is annoying on most pages.

I am wondering, why developers of software never look for those cross reference problems. :( Because as long as there are no standards on to put which keyboard short cut at what function, every page is different.

[Jan Kåre "Sander" Østmark]

Err! What's the point 'hackin' Wikipedia, 'neway's? Is'jus a public page, 'rat's all! Open for all, sotto-say, it "hacks itself". 'Cept if you want ahold of the front page. Ye nutty desperado.

[achub]

Why does everyone substitute the word "tips" or "tricks" with "hacks"? Hacking is very different

[Toby Ahlers]

It should be Jesus to John Lennon (with a captial 'L'). Wikipedia does not know that John lennon and John Lennon are the same person. The real number of jumps is 2, because they are both linked the 'anti-christ' article for whatever reason.

http://tools.wikimedia.de/~kate/cgi-bin/six_degrees?from=jesus&to=John+Lennon

[Carlos]

These aren't hacks. they are tips. Get it right.

[Hacky Hack]

Since when do tips such as "create a user account" count as "hacks"? Suggestions? Yes. Tips? Yes. Hacks? Nope.

[Jeremy Dunck]

You can also get Wikipedia in Tome Raider format, which allows you to use it on your mobile, even offline.

http://members.chello.nl/epzachte/Wikipedia/TomeRaider.html

[Dave]

Great tips. Now I think I'll go hack my refrigerator for something to eat.

[Digital Inspiration]

Now that you made it so easy for newbies to hack Wikipedia, I wonder how long will the sanity of Wikipedia be maintained.

[Justin Bell]

These aren't hacks. These aren't even hidden features.

[Jonathan]

Best thing with this wiki search is the RSS feed. You can easily build the search into your own website and format the results as desired.

Thanks for the tip, steve.

[vickeybird]

Hi Steve
You are quite right about your hack blogs being hit. I for one is quite ardent subscribed. :D
You have very interesting stuff all the time.
Keep them coming.
cheers!

[HotelMesh]

Somebody wrote this:
"Hey, big boy, where's number seven?"

I saw the seventh point above, so maybe you need a medicine
for your eyes :)

[Sonja]

I've found a nice wikipedia browser

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