Abstract : Wikipedia is part of a digital landscape which contours remain incertain because it is reluctant to analysis on the editorial, social and economic plans. Between encyclopedic product and collaborative project, it draws a different publishing model, which goes far beyond a stable and validated inter-connected knowledge. Firstly, Wikipedia provides a space to observe how the knowledge is constructed in real time, where it can "actually" be understood as a highly dynamic social process. Then it allows us to think about the notions of authorship, authority and credibility, echoing the so-called "free culture", and enhances a critical action in tune with emerging forms of citizen participation. Finally, it relies on collective intelligence and takes part in a digital continuum that breaks down boundaries between reader and author, between amateur and expert, and between minority culture and dominant culture because of its multilingualism. Understanding Wikipedia means to identify the points of rupture and continuity with traditional publishing, to identify the hybrid dynamics that it implements. It also means to gauge its impact on today's edition in its competitive or alternative forms. Finally it leads to question more broadly, with Camille Roth [ROT 07], its viability and the complex synergies that are created between the participants and content in the wiki space.