Traditional media should focus on innovating with its social networks rather than with its technology, according to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

He told the FT digital media and broadcasting conference in London this morning to look at the vast sub-cultures of people that collaborate online to create, edit and share video, music and digital content.

"This is a growing phenomenon so if we provide the social model and easy-to-use software, we'll see amazing things come out of that."

He said that the technology used to create the Wikipedia network had existed five years before its 2001 launch.

"In 2001 it would have been hard to imagine we would have a website anyone could edit that would be anything but complete rubbish.

"It's quite possible that the technology we need for the future, we already have."

He identified three elements critical to the success of Wikipedia which, he said, define what is important about the web itself: its political and religious neutrality, which makes it accessible for a wider audience; its social parameters, because people understand that they are contributing their work to a network that will not be made proprietary; and the openness of the site itself that can be edited and republished instantly.

Pointing to the popularity of blog communities and networks such as Flickr, he spoke of a realisation that people create better projects collaboratively than they can alone.

Asked if traditional media would be squeezed out by the proliferation of user-generated content, Mr Wales repeated that: "everybody makes jokes, but we still need professional comedians".

"There are going to be a lot of hybrid models, like OhMyNews, which still have in-house editorial staff," he said.

"The FT, for example, can only cover a limited amount of information but its readers have access to more sources. For them to submit information might raise questions about the accuracy and credibility of those sources, so the brand would become more of a filter."

He said Wikipedia's success had surpassed expectations; there are now more than one million English-language articles and the site is among the top 20 most-visited sites in the world with more traffic than CNN.com. Although the site can be edited by anyone, more than half the edits on the English version are made by a tight-knit core of between 600 and 800 people.

They communicate regularly through instant messaging, email groups and by meeting in person.

"It's a far more traditional process than most people would suppose, and that's part of the social innovation of Wikipedia," said Mr Wales.

"We don't need or want an open eBay-style ratings system. We want people to know each other, to talk and plan."

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