Wikipedia was there first.
The International Astronomical Union's decision of two years ago to demote Pluto
from the status of a full-fledged planet to that of a dwarf planet was noted on
Wikipedia only minutes after the decision was reached. There's something very
impressive about such an achievement, yet at the same time there's good reason
to wonder just how important it really is. Pluto, after all, remained Pluto, keeping
to its long-established orbit. The fact that new information was available to
whoever might be searching for it was no doubt significant, but that same information
was available from other sources - from the IAU itself, for instance, and a Google
search on updated information about Pluto, or something similar, would have brought
up that new information. (And let's not forget that old
information has very impressive staying power.) I wouldn't be surprised if
the vast majority of people who actually turned to Wikipedia for new information
about Pluto in the moments after the IAU decision already knew of the change in
status before searching, and did so simply to see whether Wikipedia had already
updated its page.
Any pupil who, required to submit a paper about Pluto, turned to Wikipedia and
found the latest (and most accurate) information would perhaps have gotten a good
grade on his or her paper (if, of course, the teacher accepted Wikipedia as a
source, or didn't rely on the information he or she had grown up with that Pluto
truly was the ninth planet), but other than such a case, it's hard to think of
an example in which being first with this information might have actually benefitted
someone.
Go to: Actually, I could have waited.