| There is no source of reference remotely as | | | | self-supporting regardless of the revenue model |
| authoritative as the Encyclopaedia Britannica. There is | | | | (subscription, ad-based, print, CD-ROM)? This might |
| no brand as venerable and as veteran as this | | | | well be the case. |
| mammoth labour of knowledge and ideas established | | | | Classic works of reference - from Diderot to the |
| in 1768. There is no better value for money. And, | | | | Encarta - offered a series of advantages to their |
| after a few sputters and bugs, it now comes in all | | | | users: |
| shapes and sizes, including two CD-ROM versions | | | | 1. Authority - Works of reference are authored by |
| (standard and deluxe) and an appealing and | | | | experts in their fields and peer-reviewed. This |
| reader-friendly web site. So, why does it always | | | | ensures both objectivity and accuracy. |
| appear to be on the brink of extinction? | | | | 2. Accessibility - Huge amounts of material were |
| The Britannica provides for an interesting study of | | | | assembled under one "roof". This abolished the need |
| the changing fortunes (and formats) of vendors of | | | | to scour numerous sources of variable quality to |
| reference. As late as a decade ago, it was still selling | | | | obtain the data one needed. |
| in a leather-imitation bound set of 32 volumes. As | | | | 3. Organization - This pile of knowledge was |
| print encyclopaedias went, it was a daring innovator | | | | organized in a convenient and recognizable manner |
| and a pioneer of hyperlinked-like textual design. It | | | | (alphabetically or by subject) |
| sported a subject index, a lexical part and an | | | | Moreover, authoring an encyclopaedia was such a |
| alphabetically arranged series of in-depth essays | | | | daunting and expensive task that only states, |
| authored by the best in every field of human | | | | academic institutions, or well-funded businesses were |
| erudition. | | | | able to produce them. At any given period there was |
| When the CD-ROM erupted on the scene, the | | | | a dearth of reliable encyclopaedias, which exercised a |
| Britannica mismanaged the transition. As late as 1997, | | | | monopoly on the dissemination of knowledge. |
| it was still selling a sordid text-only compact disc | | | | Competitors were few and far between. The price |
| which included a part of the encyclopaedia. Only in | | | | of these tomes was, therefore, always exorbitant |
| 1998, did the Britannica switch to multimedia and | | | | but people paid it to secure education for their |
| added tables and graphs to the CD. Video and sound | | | | children and a fount of knowledge at home. Hence |
| were to make their appearance even later. This error | | | | the long gone phenomenon of "door to door |
| in trend analysis left the field wide open to the likes | | | | encyclopaedia salesmen" and instalment plans. |
| of Encarta and Grolier. The Britannica failed to grasp | | | | Yet, all these advantages were eroded to fine dust |
| the irreversible shift from cumbersome print volumes | | | | by the Internet. The web offers a plethora of highly |
| to slender and freely searchable CD-ROMs. Reference | | | | authoritative information authored and released by |
| was going digital and the Britannica's sales plummeted. | | | | the leading names in every field of human knowledge |
| The Britannica was also late to cash on the web | | | | and endeavour. The Internet, is, in effect, an |
| revolution - but, when it did, it became a world leader | | | | encyclopaedia - far more detailed, far more |
| overnight. Its unbeatable brand was a decisive factor. | | | | authoritative, and far more comprehensive that any |
| A failed experiment with an annoying subscription | | | | encyclopaedia can ever hope to be. The web is also |
| model gave way to unrestricted access to the full | | | | fully accessible and fully searchable. What it lacks in |
| contents of the Encyclopaedia and much more | | | | organization it compensates in breadth and depth and |
| besides: specially commissioned articles, fora, an | | | | recently emergent subject portals (directories such |
| annotated internet guide, news in context, downloads | | | | as Yahoo! or The Open Directory) have become the |
| and shopping. The site enjoys healthy traffic and the | | | | indices of the Internet. The aforementioned |
| Britannica's CD-ROM interacts synergistically with its | | | | anti-competition barriers to entry are gone: web |
| contents (through hyperlinks). | | | | publishing is cheap and immediate. Technologies such |
| Yet, recently, the Britannica had to fire hundreds of | | | | as web communities, chat, and e-mail enablemassive |
| workers (in its web division) and a return to a | | | | collaborative efforts. And, most important, the bulk |
| pay-for-content model is contemplated. What went | | | | of the Internet is free. Users pay only the |
| wrong again? Internet advertising did. The Britannica's | | | | communication costs. |
| revenue model was based on monetizing eyeballs, to | | | | The long-heralded transition from free content to |
| use a faddish refrain. When the perpetuum mobile of | | | | fee-based information may revive the fortunes of |
| "advertisers pay for content and users get it free" | | | | online reference vendors. But as long as the Internet |
| crumbled - the Britannica found itself in familiar dire | | | | - with its 2,000,000,000 (!) visible pages (and 5 times |
| straits. | | | | as many pages in its databases) - is free, |
| Is there a lesson to be learned from this arduous and | | | | encyclopaedias have little by way of a competitive |
| convoluted tale? Are works of reference not | | | | advantage. |