Blog vs. Wiki

In this era, where our every thought absolutely must be shared with the world instantaneously, we see a rise in blogs and wikis that can be created by just about anyone. Blogs and wikis are two of the medias we use as platforms for our discussions, the voicing of our opinions, and the sharing of news, whether personal or otherwise. A blog is an informal web page run by an individual or a group of individuals for the purpose of logging continuous chronological updates. They are often personal and opinionated but can be focused around just about anything. On the other hand, a wiki is a not run by any one individual and is often looked at as a formal resource that can be updated for the purpose exposure of information to the world. Wikis offer the controversial freedom of collaboration with anyone who can access it. This takes away from the credibility of the information provided within them and adds to the question of what authority is publishing the information.

Besides their differences, wikis and blogs are vital to how we access, process and find information in this Information Society we live in. As I mentioned before, we are prompted to question the authority that publishes the works we look up. I we find a link on Facebook that interests us, we look at the person who shared it, and the person who originally posted it. We make both, conscious and unconscious judgments of the credibility of these authorities. So when we bring this back to wikis and blogs, we are faced this the dilemma of judging the publisher’s reliability. A blog offers insights on topics and the person making it does not have the responsibility to keep their opinions out of it. Similarly, wikis can be edited by anyone and that fact alone is problematic.

Credibility and other issues aside, blogs and wiki allow people to converge ideas and share thoughts and theories which connects us in ways unimaginable. Margaret Locher states that wikis are “designed to improve information sharing and collaboration”. The sharing of information today has not only changed the way we live but also the we think and process information. Anyone with an internet connection and a blog site has the tools necessary to put down a piece of their mind onto some code that will exists until the end of time. The collaboration of others adds to such things to increase the importance of the blogs and wikis that are created. It is, after all, the quantity of people viewing these pages that is important in the end. It is mentioned by Jeff Bercovici that “When users flee in droves, it's usually because of a change to the product”. So if the content on the page is no longer matching the needs of the audience, collaborations will either modify their content, or be left altogether. The power is in the hands of the publisher.

Since so many wikis already exist in the world, I don’t imagine my idea hasn’t been attempted before. However, I think it would be really nice to see a wiki where all the people who have similar diseases and/or disabilities can get together and add to a wiki forum about things that helped them overcome some of their shared issues and what was a success and a failure for others. When people in need can be helped that always seems like the best option to me.

References:

Bercovici, Jeff. “Yahoo's Next Problem: Tumblr's Traffic Isn't Growing.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 15 Apr. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2014/01/21/yahoos-next-problem-tumblrs-traffic-isnt-growing/

Wiki While You Work; The technology popularized by Wikipedia can help companies gather and manage their own collective knowledge. Here's how to get started by Margaret Locher. CIO, May 1, 2008. Vol. 21, Iss. 14.