The Missing Manuals series, published by O’Reilly Media, has migrated its book about Wikipedia to Wikipedia. Starting today, the entire contents of Wikipedia: The Missing Manual (O’Reilly) by John Broughton is available for free online for editing and updating just like any other Wikipedia entry.

“What makes this project different than any of the other zillion books online today is the format we’ve chosen–a wiki,” explains Peter Meyers, Missing Manuals’ managing editor. “Book viewers will be able to do all the same things they do on any other wiki: view the document, edit it, add to it–in short, whatever they want. The book is going to reside in the site’s Help area, naturally, since the book is all about helping people edit and navigate their way around Wikipedia.”

“Once it’s live, our hope is that the Wikipedia community will flock to the book and ‘curate’ it by adding tips, tricks, and by updating the material to reflect changes to Wikipedia since we’ve published the original edition. Down the road, when it comes time for us to consider publishing a second edition of the print book, we’ll think about whether to incorporate some of the community’s changes into the new edition,” Meyers added.

The drive to post “Wikipedia: The Missing Manual” to Wikipedia was spearheaded by author John Broughton. Broughton, a registered editor at Wikipedia since 2005 with more than 20,000 edits under his belt, says he’s looking forward to seeing what changes and improvements his fellow Wikipedians will make to his book.

Originally posted on January 27, 2009 @ 11:20 am

Dogpile.com has reached the $250,000 mark just two months into its goal of raising $1 million through the end of 2009 for pets in need. Since the launch of its Search & Rescue campaign the company has received an overwhelming response from pet lovers around the world.

Search & Rescue is a creative online philanthropy program designed to aid pets in need by donating a portion of the revenue generated from Internet searches conducted on Dogpile.com to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and other animal-related charities.

In addition to searching on Dogpile.com directly, a search engine that pools results from all major search engines, consumers can help raise funds and awareness by downloading a Search & Rescue toolbar or by inviting a friend to help out through the Dogpile Search & Rescue Facebook application.

Originally posted on January 25, 2009 @ 10:28 am

Online career development network MyWorkster is now bridging Facebook members with employers, universities, and career development resources.

Full integration with Facebook Connect, enables both Facebook and MyWorkster users to login using Facebook usernames and passwords, integrate MyWorkster activity feeds into Facebook profiles, and share professional content on MyWorkster with friends on Facebook.

MyWorkster enable individuals to link with employers, job openings and career development information through common associations like universities. The innovative site makes the job search process more effective and efficient for both the MyWorkster member and the employer. Through MyWorkster’s Recruiter 3.0, employers brand themselves through individual profiles, and allowing them to target specific interests, universities and locations.

MyWorkster members have immediate access to nearly 5,000,000 jobs and thousands of decision-makers. They can seek mentorship from their university alumni, connect with others in their field of interest, and find information resources to help them land the job they deserve.

MyWorkster partners with institutions like universities to help strengthen their career development assistance to students and alumni. These partnerships also help those institutions improve communications within their own constituencies.

Originally posted on January 27, 2009 @ 11:46 am