Wiki Grab Bag

Here are some items related to wikis that have caught my interest lately…

TOP OF THIS LIST: Blogs or Wikis … What’s the best platform for building a collaborative disaster-relief resource on the web? By Dina Mehta, Conversations with Dina, Dec. 28, 2004. Mehta is a member of the team of bloggers who set up the now-famous SEA-EAT blog for tsunami and earthquake victim relief efforts. In this article, she ponders whether a wiki might have worked better than a blog.

While I agree that a wiki would have made more sense from a development perspective, I think it would have been a mistake from a user perspective. Most internet users don’t really understand how wikis work. They take a fair amount of getting used to. While blogs also have a bit of a learning curve compared to traditional media, it still has a lot in common with traditional media. Also, it’s easier for a newbie to figure out which information is most recent in a blog, compared to a wiki.

Given the huge audience SEA-EAT has attracted (my own short announcement of that blog has been the most-visited item on my own site since I posted it, for example), I think usability is key. Mehta notes some significant usability drawbacks to the SEA-EAT blog, but personally I think those are minor compared to what a wiki would present. (Thanks to Common Craft for this link.)

Read the rest of this list…

Four ways to use wikis for project management, by Tim Duckett, Cutting Through, Jan. 6. Excellent advice! Tips include planning meeting agendas, real-time meeting minutes, brainstorming presentations, and updating documents.
Using a Wiki for Documentation and Collaborative Authoring, by Michael Angeles, LLRX.com, Nov. 28, 2004. Excellent resource, especially for librarians. I agree, probably one of the best uses for a wiki is documentation of internal processes. Manuals are so 20th-century…
Why Do Wiki RSS Feeds Suck? By Jeremy D. Zawodny, Web Pro News, Jan. 3. I totally agree with him. The content offered by the wiki webfeeds I’ve seen has been mostly baffling and useless – as if they’re meant to be read by computers rather than people. Ugh! I love wikis, and contribute to them, even though I think their readability/usability generally suck. But nowadays webfeeds are the only way I can follow what’s happening with my favorite sites – because so much is happening, and there are so many interesting sites. So I end up not following the most interesting wikis, even when I should. Such a shame. Calling all creative developers: HELP!!!!!
Theory X and Theory Y of wiki adoption, another great piece about attitudes toward wikis by Tim Duckett, Cutting Through, Oct. 7, 2004. Excerpt: “We had a meeting with a couple of potential clients this week that were quite eye-opening in terms of attitudes to wikis… What was fascinating was the difference in perception of the freedom to edit that wikis provide. In one organisation the idea that wikis can (if you configure them this way) allow anyone to edit anything was accepted without a murmer. In the other, it was as if we’d suggested that they leave the petty cashbox unlocked out in the street outside with a sign saying ‘help yourself.’”
Good anti-spam measures for a Wiki , by Frank Carver, Dec. 6, 2004. Any online medium that allows public participation will attract spam. This includes wikis. Here, Carver discusses some options for preventing wiki spam. The comments to this piece offer even more ideas. It’s a bit technical, but very useful – and a must-read if you want to run (or are running) a wiki of your own.
Wiki wiki bus and conference blogging, by Lilia Efimova, Mathamagenic, Jan. 4. OK, this article is mainly about conference blogging, but it starts with a great anecdote: “There are things that can make you smile after 2 flights, 18 hours in planes, jetlag and all other things that I’d call downside of travel. This time it was a sign at Honolulu airport with directions to “Wiki wiki shuttle bus” (in case you didn’t know – wiki wiki is Hawaiian term for quick or super-fast :)”
Bad, Bad terminology… OK, I’d expect this kind of gaffe from a free consumer newspaper, but NOT from a technology publication. In a Jan. 1 Electronic Business article, Howard Baldwin mangled the distinction between wikis and blogs thusly: “On a semantic note, what we’re really describing here is a wiki, not a blog. From the Hawaiian word for fast, a wiki is generally considered to be a collaborative effort, whereas a blog is more personal. However, blog is becoming the more all-encompassing term, so we’ll use that.” ARRRGGGGHHH!!!!!! The article does not discuss wikis at all. Wikis can be contributed to and edited by anyone (either the general public, or within a specified group). Blogs allow comments, but only designated authors can post blog items. Grumble….