In an effort to increase the quality and variety of online content, many organizations are beginning to throw in a dash of competition. With the knowledge that human beings are innately driven to succeed—and, often, with the extra motivation of a grand prize for the winner—organizations such as the Oracle Education Foundation have developed website design and online content creation contests. Oracle's contribution to the world of online competitions is the ThinkQuest competition: teams of students internationally collaborate to create informative, creative websites that fit into a variety of categories. With hundreds of entries semi-annually and thousands
of
sites in its virtual archive, the ThinkQuest site has a plethora of new and exciting information which will undoubtedly do its part to help create meaningful online content (Oracle). However, the vast majority of individuals who participate in ThinkQuest and other competitions like it are those who have ready access to computers and the Internet already, and hence are those for whom most online content is geared in the first place. In the future, as physical access becomes increasingly prevalent, it is imperative that similar programs be instituted for individuals who are underrepresented in the online community. |