Wikis and blogs are two forms of communication tools that essential are made
to reach multiple people but utilize different methods in achieving that. They
are similar in a number of ways but are very different in others.
Wiki is a shared database that can be edited by anyone who has access to it.
You can set up the amount of people you want to give access to or you can make
it public. Blogs are similar in that way as well. You can limit your audience
or make it unlimited. The difference with Wikis, is that, normally there are
many authors and blogs normally have one. When you have many contributors,
people wonder about the integrity of the information: is it real or fake? It
will easily make you think, can someone intentionally sabotage the information.
Some people can do that but others can actually revert it back to its original
form. Since there are many authors in a Wiki, there are a number of checks and
balances in place. Users will make sure that the content of the information is
accurate and the value of the content remains high. There are a number of
people involved in the wiki that would have a high knowledge of the subject
matter. An example of this is a wiki that we use in my corporation, where we
share knowledge on operations processes, procedures and best practices. We have
an extensive operations manual that we are constantly updating in order to keep
it current. It is used across 11 sites, so all of the managers and supervisors
make changes and updates regularly. There are a couple senior management team
members that monitor the content to make sure it is accurate and effective. One
measuring stick for effectiveness mentioned in a PC World article "Go to
the grumpiest people you have and have them test it. Hear their complaints. It
will help you figure out how to provide a wiki that's helpful and not
cumbersome." This is normally the one of the essential goals of a Wiki. If
the grumpy people find it helpful, there is a good chance that everyone else
will.
Blogs normally consist of one author or a corporation that communicates
their views in a more personal matter. This comes across as more of a diary
that is shared with the masses or a select group. Wikis are similar in that the
information is intended to reach a target audience or the whole public in
general. In the eyes of many, blogs have improved the way we receive up to date
information. Let's look at a newspaper for example, if you buy it late in the
morning, there may have been a couple of important stories that have taken
place since it was printed. The newspaper companies are not going to reprint
thousands of newspapers in order to keep up with the blog news. Blogs can have
major impacts on the masses depending on the corporation, news outlet,
celebrity, etc...One of the key aspects of blogs is the ability to comment on
the posts. This allows you the ability to get instant feedback from readers,
which was not available in previous media like magazines, newspapers and
journals. This is a major difference from Wikis because they are less personal
than blogs, in that it is not set up for comments like a blog is. There seems
to be more freedom of speech with this format that with a wiki even though
those freedoms are sometimes frowned upon as in the "Pentagon Keeps Wary
Watch as Troops Blog" article. Not everyone agrees with this new form of
communication but it does not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
I found this nice little video (see below) that explains the differences
between blogs and wikis. It is a nice look into the pros and cons of each one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsFU3sAlPx4
Both of these tools are making big impacts in how we communicate and their
popularity is growing rapidly. Blogs are great ways to get up to date, news and
information. It also allows people to express what they are feeling and they
will see that they are not the only ones feeling that way. There are many
people that think the same way that you do and this form will expose that for
you. Wikis is a great way to keep your information fresh and up to date. It
also allows for check and balances in a much easier fashion. Gone are the days
of having meetings every time something needed to be updated or a new
strategy/procedure needed to be agreed upon. With the wiki, you can do this
from just about anywhere. Just log onto the website and update or correct
previous data. With the advent of technology, our reach becomes greater every
time. Both tools have some great benefits to them.
Not sure if this was ever thought of but maybe creating a family wiki.
Creating and updating a family tree. It would be great to gives access to all
of your family members and have them update every time a major event happens
with someone in their immediate family. It gives us the opportunity to see what
is currently going on with everyone.
Articles Cited:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/156066/seven_tips_to_success_with_a_corporate_wiki.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/us/09milblogs.html?ref=politics
Videos Cited:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsFU3sAlPx4
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