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What: For decades Amar Chitra Katha has been a repository of Indian
legends, history, folktales and fables. Now we are launching The
ACKpedia project to develop the authoritative online source on the
people, places and culture of the Indic region.
Why: We believe ACKpedia will address three critical gaps in current
online offerings
- Consistent quality: There is a wide variation in the accuracy and
readability of online information and reliability as a "record of
reference" is absent. Through an expert review/curatorial process,
ACKpedia will ensure consistency of quality.
- High usability quotient: There is very little standardization in the
presentation of information on existing sources (e.g., fact vs.
opinions, quick reference vs. in-depth exposition). ACKpedia will
ensure consistency of not just quality but also consistency in the
treatment/style of content
- Lack of coverage of Indian culture: The proportion of in-depth and
fact-checked online articles on India is a fraction of the "fair
share". We believe there is a lot more to talk about India! ACKpedia,
with its sharp focus on everything Indian will strive to explore the
millions of places, people and cultures that make up India
How: ACKpedia will be user generated, however the curatorial and
editing process will be expert managed. In addition, content
validation will also rest with the user. The articles will be
published under the Creative Commons License (with some exceptions).
The goal is to build upon and complement existing open source efforts
like wikipedia, citizendium and Google Knol.
We believe that ACKpedia can succeed only if the vast pool of
India-scholars - professional and amateur - contribute. If you are
interested in participating in this project please send us your
articles at ackpedia@ack-media.com. As a start, the topics will be
restricted to "people" and "places" of India.
Note: We are currently developing the engine to facilitate and ease
user content generation. Watch this space in the coming months. |
