Blogs vs. Wikis

Let's start with some Definitions...

WIKI: "The simplest online database that could possibly work."  It is a webpage that anyone, with permission, can create or edit (Goodnoe, 2005), that can be used to provide knowledge management and power community websites.

BLOG: A personal or corporate website in the form of an online journal, with new entries appearing in sequence as they are written, especially as dealing with reflections or opinion, and typically incorporating links to other articles.

Both Blogs and Wikis enable communication of information by a person or group of people, and provide a platform for feedback.

• Blogs allow you to control the information that is available to the public
• Wikis, without the appropriate control, can be very susceptible to Internet fallacies.

• A Blog allows you to see exactly who posted each comment, without compromising the integrity of the content.
• However, Wikis encompass the highly-notarized American notion of "freedom of speech," as well as allow for the emergence of unanticipated information, instantly.

Blogs and Wikis in one word: CONVERGENCE

* Today's interactive and mediated world thrives, and virtually survives, on instantaneous information.  If you need to look something up, you will not be surprised when 5 co-workers bark "Google it" at you.

*In fact, Web 2.0 has established a whole slur of jargon to describe processes that never existed in the past, and the comedy in these jibberish terms is that they are continually understood.

Other Examples....

Youtube it.....Facebook me

Skype me.........Tweet about it

Tag me..........Poke her.......B.B.M. him

Blogs as a Collaboration Tool:

Although blogs do not have "centralized registry [or] editorial oversight," (Gill 2004), the collaboration occurs through similar interests, resulting in blog-posts and responses.  This two-way journal allows for users to express themselves holistically, and wait for those interested to respond to in turn spark a conversation of relevance.

A new use for Wikis? 

The explosion of social networking and new media has allowed for numerous, innovative ways to use these communication tools. Although the best use for them is still a work in progress, David Pogue, 2009, says it best by describing these new notions as "It's what you make of it."  However, I believe that the best use for Wikis right now, that is not fully being implemented, are for academia. Students will be more apt to using this tool for homework help and study skills, then for personal uses. It will allow for ease and simplicity when someone has a question or comment about the course, as well as having a high probability of at least one student responding in a relatively short amount of time.

References

Goodnoe, Ezra. "How To Use Wikis For Business." InformationWeek. 8 Aug. 2005. InternetWeek. 10 June 2009 .

Gill, Kathy E. "How Can We Measure the Influence of the Blogosphere?" May 2004. June 2009.

Pogue, David. "Twitter? It's What You Make It." The New York Times. 12 Feb. 2009. 15 June 2009.