Thing 13 Learn about wikis

This week's focus is on wikis. What did I find interesting about wikis? What can libraries do with wikis? For more details on the task, see it at this page:


http://vbpl2point0.blogspot.com/2007/09/thing-13-learn-about-wikis-and-discover.html


A wiki seems to be a combination of blog and website. People who don't know anything about web editing can now create webpages with whatever content they want---business and marketing, conferences, projects, etc.


The whole social and collaborative nature of these so called web 2.0 tools still is a bit of a mystery to me. I don't see why people want to stay on the internet just to read what people have to say on discussion boards, forums, and blogs. You get inundated with information, and sometimes it's not useful or is badly presented, and that's the problem with this kind of collaboration---you get the people who are interested providing content, but it could go wrong for any reason (propaganda, gushing fandom---all love and no substance).


I think I understand it better now, if I can relate my experiences with myspace and facebook. I don't know anything about creating websites, but on these sites, I have my own page (and on myspace, my own web address). These tools no longer require that someone be tech savvy with a lot of html know-how, which opens up content to be provided by anyone who has the interest in doing so, and there are a lot of people who want to share what they know with others who may not have had the means before. More than just fans and hobbyists providing content, the ones that take it to the next level are the ones who write to relate, they have a voice and personality. Wikis are an extension of that social and collaborative nature of web tools. The kind of people interested in looking for discussion boards, forums, and blogs would be interested in finding wikis for info.


How can libraries use wikis? Well, this library system already uses one for reader advisory. I sometimes wonder if it'd be better to use a wiki for the library's own website rather than the new Vignette based one, which has the decentralized collaborative nature of a wiki, but it is quite a PITA to use. From the sounds of it, a wiki would be more user friendly in the editing stage. I already see wikis being used by specific groups for projects and group events.

It's neat to read about these tools, but I'm surprised that more hands on learning is not part of the plan. I guess it's about personal learning there---if you're really interested, you'll learn on your own---still, since this is supposedly part of the whole learning 2.0 program, you'd think it'd be more than just reading. It could be more participatory than this!