Everyone who's anyone knows about Wikipedia. Sure, sure. It's a great information source for things that happened in the past, geek things, online culture things. But I have to admit that until the last 6 months or so, it hadn't occurred to me to use it as a newsfilter, a great source of online info, but that's exactly what it's been.

When big news stories break, I shun TV. I hate TV. It takes too long, has too much rhetoric, and you might have to stick around for 15 minutes or more to get the facts you need to hear. Instead, I used to surf between about six or seven places: Google News, MeFi, CNN, BoingBoing, BBC, and maybe one or two other news or community places.

But with the last few big stories (London Underground bombings and the Tsunami), I started visiting Wikipedia (they set up a "current events page" for events like these) about once an hour or so for updates, and I'll tell you this: I'm a convert. I've stopped looking at the other sites altogether.

Here's why:

1. It's constantly updated, rather than having to look for new articles the way the news sites do. I can bookmark one page and get all the information I need.

2. Unlike traditional community sites, there's no chaff of backbiting, snarking, bitching about politics, etc. I find I have less and less patience for these while scanning for useful links and commentary.

3. Like the best part of community sites, it's the result of input and information scanning of dozens or even hundreds of people. It comprises far more information, including tons of offsite links, than I'd ever be able to collect on my own.

4. It lacks a lot of the hysteria and rhetoric you'll get from traditional news agencies - it's been distilled down to the facts.

5. Timing is everything. Often, the Wikipedia page has more information and faster than the networks can churn out. Community sites like Mefi may be as timely, but it takes longer to filter through the debates to find the facts.

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