What is a wiki?

After reading through the list of tasks due for this week, I was both interested and a little daunted. The whole idea of actually creating a wiki (which I was totally unfamiliar with) with a partner, who I had not ever met, definitely was overwhelming. Although, the readings provided on ANGEL were useful tools in ascertaining an idea of what a wiki is and the strengths and limitations it bestows. Additionally, through utilizing Web 2.0 applications and mobile communication, my partner and I for this task managed to work together to overcome the challenges involved in both creating and managing a wiki thread.

Pattarawan and Wagner’s article, “The role of Wiki Technology and Altruism in Collaborative Knowledge Creation”, was particularly helpful in defining and explaining what a wiki is. The definition that I found which provided the most insight was that the modern and innovative form of wiki technology acts as a space where “people can update content of open, shared web-based documents, without individual ownership of the content” (p.33). Moreover, this article simplifies this definition by emphasizing that a wiki “is a set of linked web pages, created through the incremental development by a group of collaborating users, as well as the software used to manage, manipulate and publish web pages” (p.34). A key characteristic of wiki technology is the notion of collective authorship, as Wiki allows for web documents to “be authored collectively without individual ownership of documents” (Pattarawan & Wagner, 2009, p. 34). Differentiating from blogging, which involves adding new contributions to existing ones, “wiki contributions are integrated into the existing body of knowledge” (Pattarawan & Wagner, 2009, p.34). More importantly, this article exemplifies the example of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, as a form of wiki technology that does not have any financial rewards for writing an article.

After ascertaining a relatively firm grasp of the concept of wiki technology, the next challenge was to introduce myself to my partner for the group assignment. Hollie and I contacted each other through text messages, phone calls, emails, as well as blog comments and Facebook. The use of the Web 2.0 applications in particular allowed us to organize a place to meet so that we could decide on a subject to focus on. We discussed the interests we had in common (face-to-face) and were able to identify that we shared a passion for fashion, yet both agreed that pursuing this interest can be difficult at times due to the limited income of a college student. We then decided to create our wiki thread based on this topic and adding it to the BufWiki website. Due to the direction we were taking with our wiki (which is titled “Shopping on a Budget”), we utilized BufWiki as a platform for providing locals, college students in particular, with information that can assist in keeping up with the latest trends in an affordable way. The picture featured below is of Half and Half Clothing; a clothing store we featured in our thread.

After each of us conducted research into our subject, which included taking photographs, as well as comparing different boutiques and shops on the basis of rates and stock, Hollie and I pieced together our wiki thread, including links and pictures relating to some great ways for bargain hunting in Buffalo. In addition, we utilized Photoshop to resize our photographs so that they were appropriate for the web. Although, when Hollie was updating our wiki thread, our page became blocked. After emailing and corresponding with the person who put a hold on our page (which was apparently to stop others from adding, editing or contributing to our work), the lock was released. This particular hiccup reflects one of the articles we had to read for this week, as it uses Wikipedia as an example to highlight that only certain content can be published on this partuicular website (Pattarawan & Wagner, 2009, p. 34). Wikipedia has been depicted as the most successful encyclopedia based on its size, growth and usage (Pattarawan & Wagner, 2009, p. 34). This is largely a result of the collaboration model supplemented into Wikipedia, as people can contribute to any subject on this website. Although, similar to the challenge that we faced when our page became locked, users need to be wary of what they post on these websites, as the content MUST reflect the thread they’re posting on.

I also think that when talking about wiki technology, it is important to distinguish the difference between wikis and blogging. They key characteristic can be demonstrated through the idea of a blog being an online journal; it is an online avenue people utilize as a journal. Moreover, blog entries are typically structured in reverse chronological order. This differentiates from a wiki page as "wiki magic" allows a producer to use collaborative creation to submit information to a website and it will appear instantly. The content that is produced for a wiki page is not presented in any particular order; all content acts as an addition to a pre existing wiki.

I found an excellent article, coincidentally it is from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, which does so. I found this quote particularly interesting in reference to the Wiki readings for this week;

"Wikis are a highly flexible knowledge management space. Indeed, in comparison with the temporal information structure of blogs, it is useful to conceptualise wikis as spatial structures that are infinitely expandable. In essence, then, the wiki offers a vast simplification of the process of creating HTML pages, and thus is a very effective way to build and exchange information through collaborative effort" (Bruns & Duffy, 2006, p. 34).

This idea can be associated with Pattarawan and Wagner's argument of altruism; people collaborate in an open source community to share both self and community based information.

So, that is my understanding of Wiki technology and the experiences I gained through using it. I really enjoy writing a weekly blog about this course as I realize that I am learning quite a lot at a rapid rate. This led me to having an epiphany; I know what Wiki technology is and how to create my own wiki thread. I am sure others within COM336 will no doubt agree with me in saying that it is a great accomplishment.

References:

Bruns, A. & Duffy, P. (2006). The Use of Blogs, Wikis and RSS in Education: A conversation of possibilities. Proceeding Online Learning and Teaching Conference, p. 31-38.

Pattarawan, P. & Wagner, C. (2009). The Role of Wiki Technology and Altruism in Collaborative Knowledge Creation. Journal of Computer Information Systems, p. 33-41.