Exploring the World of Wikis

Ever since the online encyclopedia Wikipedia went public, I have been constantly informed in the academic world that it is not a reliable source to use when researching information because the site’s content can be edited and developed by just about anyone. Because of that reasoning alone I concluded over the years that the credibility of any wiki was obsolete. It was not until recently, that I decided to challenge that reasoning by doing some of my own insight into the use of wikis. I wanted to find out what are the different uses of wikis, how would they benefit me , and do they provide a substantial benefit to the social media world. I started off by looking up a definition of what a wiki was, and my choice of resource for that was none other than the famous site of http://www.wikipedia.org/. Wikipedia defines a wiki as “a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include community websites, corporate intranets, knowledge management systems, and note services. The software can also be used for personal notetaking.”.
Then I took a plunge into the Wiki World even further with a visit to the first wiki website created by Ward Cunningham, http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WelcomeVisitors. This is where the idea of wikis started. While this site is geared more for topics closer related to software development, there are many other wiki sites that help you develop a wiki to your liking. Up to this point the idea of wikis did not strike my interest until I came upon the http://www.wikispaces.com/ and the http://www.pbwiki.com/ websites. Just from these pages alone, I realized how closely wikis relate with other social media pages out there, but without all the other distractions like SPAM! These sites teach you how to create wikis to discuss your own thoughts and knowledge while allowing others to add or edit as they please. Sounds a lot like blogging don’t you think?! You can also use wikis to coordinate between people which is a growing trend as opposed to the old and not so effective way of email. A demonstration of how a wiki works and the benefits of utilizing one is shown in a three minute YouTube video I came across http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY.

Finally, between the information I found throughout the articles, posts, and videos I found on the internet, I now have a better view of what a wiki is and the benefits of using one. With the options of personalizing pages and adding images and files, I can see wikis growing into a widely used social networking tool. I can actually look back and think of a time when I would have benefited from the use of a wiki. For example, my wedding five years ago. It was a wedding that took place in Ohio, but I had to plan it from Arizona while coordinating with my family, photographer, minister, etc., and who were all scattered across the country. It did not run smoothly at all and was a disaster. It is mind boggling to think of the headaches I could have prevented if I would have used a wiki to coordinate with everyone. Lesson learned... Wikis Rock!

Megan Johnson