Study of Wikipedia Users Behavior
Researchers have conducted an analysis and identified three main types of Wikipedia users, each with its own characteristics and features.
“Recognize yourself?”
1. Browsers
Browsers are users who chaotically navigate from one article to another, moving further away from the original topic. They may start reading an article about cats and end up on an article about space. For them, Wikipedia is a kind of knowledge labyrinth where they can get lost and discover something new and unexpected.
2. Hunters
Hunters are users who explore multiple articles on related topics. They may start with researching the history of ancient Egypt and end up on an article about the pharmaceutical industry. Hunters seek to immerse themselves in different areas of knowledge and search for connections between them.
3. Dancers
Dancers are users who find connections between articles from initially unrelated directions. They may discover interesting parallels between medieval art and cybersecurity development. Dancers see Wikipedia as a vast web of knowledge where they can uncover hidden links and associations.
These archetypes were identified after analyzing the behavior of 482,000 users from 50 countries. Each type of user has its advantages and characteristics that make using Wikipedia engaging and unique.