The Encyclopedia Britannica, long considered to be the measuring stick in which all other encyclopedias are compared, is joining the world of user-generated content. Keeping with the “first-class” theme of the encyclopedia, all material must be fact-checked and approved by the editor before it appears in the books. Online corrections take about twenty minutes to be approved or denied. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Britannica president Jorge Cauz says that his encyclopedia is held at a “higher standard” than Wikipedia. “[There are] plenty of cracks… It’s very uneven, the facts are not always correct, the model contains a lot of pitfalls.” The new, web 2.0-equipped Encyclopedia Britannica is available now for all users.

In other news, Twitter is becoming rather popular in the United Kingdom … mind-numbingly popular. The microblogging mega-site has grown by an astonishing 974% in the past year. Average use time also tripled, going from ten minutes a session to a full half an hour. Despite the sudden fame, Twitter still has a ways to go before reaching the coveted top ten. The site ranked 23rd in 2008, getting a 0.24% overall user share. By comparison, reigning champion Facebook finished 2008 with a 37.57% share.

And finishing up this abbreviated week, the folks at YouTube is allowing their “online partners” to bring their advertising to the proverbial next level. Under a new agreement with YouTube parent Google, advertisers are now able to effectively sell their overlay ad space to others. While some “elite” partners have been able to do this for a little while now, the service has eluded most clients. Many within the industry feel the plan is ploy to raise ad rate and, by extension, earnings. Expect to see the new, non-YouTube controlled ads within a few months.