Network effects aren’t just the preserve of profit-seeking firms. Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia managed by a foundation, also benefits from network externalities. Anyone can create competitors to Wikipedia, and there are many niche ones (such as Wookieepedia, dedicated to the Star Wars universe). But Wikipedia is where the majority of contributors gather to share their wisdom and critique each other, so it is where readers congregate. And because this is where the readers gather, Wikipedia becomes the space where contributors want to write. It is a positive externality: every
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