Taylor+Swift+Discussion+Section

1. Account for the postings (number of revisions, time range from first to last, notation of periods of activity) 2. Describe progress or development in the article from the original post to the most recent update 3. Critique the quality of the article in its current state (writing quality and factual information) 4. Describe the discussion around the article 5. Provide background information on the most active contributors.

**Analyzing the Taylor Swift Wikipedia Article** 1. The Taylor Swift wiki page has been revised nearly 1,500 times. The first revision was on June 4, 2006 and the latest revision was on October 24, 2010. As I looked through the thousands of edits, it seems that this page has and is being edited quite frequently. The periods of activity go steadily from month to month, starting in 2006. The page isn't being edited every single day, but it's actually pretty close to being that way. This doesn't really surprise me though because people who edit the page are probably trying to keep up with Taylor Swift's busy career and are constantly updating the information as well as adding brand new information. Of course, there are a lot of edits on the month and day that she released her two CD's, one in 2006 and the other 2008. Her third CD is going to be released tomorrow (10/25/10) so I am sure the page will be buzzing with activity.

2. Wow...the original post has only 5 lines of information about Taylor Swift! However, I have to realize that this is because she wasn't that famous yet and the page was created when her very first single, "Time McGraw" came out on the radio. The original post also includes Taylor Swift's full name, birth date, place of birth, record label information, and a short list of major appearances. The most recent page is a huge transformation, keeping in sync with Taylor Swift's rise to stardom. The most recent page includes information such as: early life, music career, songwriting style, other work (acting, modeling, merchandise, and philanthropy), personal life, flimography, discography, and a list of awards and nominations received by the star herself. The current page also includes numerous pictures and even a music file embedded within the page where you can listen to a preview of her latest single! Needless to say, there has been major progress made with this page since the original posting in 2006.

3. I have been a huge fan of Taylor Swift since I heard her first song on the radio in 2006. I have read numerous articles and books about her so I thought I could be a fairly good judge to see if the information on this page was factual. After reading through the page, I would have to say that the information does seem to be factual because I have read and already knew most of the things written on this page about Taylor Swift. The writing quality isn't the best in the world, but is to the point, concise, and easy to follow. I didn't find many grammatical errors, which surprised me. I noticed that the article includes a ton of references at the end- 130 to be exact! In my opinion, the article pretty much tells someone anything and everything they would want to know about Taylor Swift. Readers can learn the story of her rise to fame, what her childhood was like, her songwriting style, along with tons of other information! If someone wanted to learn an overall summary of who Taylor Swift was, then I would definitely recommend this page to them. I don't know of a website where so much information about her is provided in an easy to read format. It's convenient that the information is just all there on one page. This is why I have always liked using Wikipedia, in spite of what my teachers told me.

4. I thought there would be a lot more discussion than there is! There is only 10 topics! On the discussion page, people are generally discussing what they think should be added or are wanting to clarify and/or correct information that is in the article. Also, there is discussion on certain information that some thought to be in the wrong section of the wiki article. There is also some discussion on typos and not posting rumors until they are proven to be facts. There is not any deep, intense, or rich discussion going on at all.

5.The most active contributor for this page is TenPoundHammer with 129 edits total. This user's page says that this editor is a Veteran Editor IV and is entitled to displaying a Gold Editor Star. This editor has six other editors that help him. It also shows that this user is a male, has been on Wikipedia for 4 years, 9 months, and 26 days, enjoys country music, plays the guitar, and of last count, the user is #36 of "active Wikipedians."

The second most active contributor is DreamStar05 with 107 edits. Her name is Lucy, she was born in 1992, and she lives in New York. She enjoys visiting and editing Wikipedia, is a vegetarian, and believes in animal rights. The articles she edits most are current events. She also enjoys studying French, writing on internet forums, and writing fiction.

The third most active contributors are Lollipop1398 and Caldorwards 4, both with 91 edits. Lollipop1298 does not have a user page, so I found no background information on this contributor. Caldorwards4 has been a Wikipedian since October 3, 2005. This user's page says that he is a male, was born April 18 in Spokane, Washington, and now currently resides in Meridian, Idaho. His interests are country music, retail, and shopping malls. This user is currently taking part in five different WikiProjects. His page also shows that he has been given three Barnstars: The Barnstar of High Culture, the RickK Anti-Vandalism Barnstar, and The Barnstar of Good Humor.