#10 Wiki Wiki Fun!

What’s It All About?

A wiki is software that allows users to freely create, edit, and link web pages easily using any browser. It is the most simple form of database. Wikis usually have a simple text syntax for creating new pages and do not require the user to understand html code. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, often on the fly, and to power community websites.

Wiki in Hawaiian means fast. The first wikis were created by programmers who were required to write documentation. They wanted something they could create easily, was accessible from the web and that allowed them to work collaboratively.

One of the most exciting concepts of wikis is that everyone can create content and edit pages, even non-technical users. This encourages free, democratic use of the Web as a creative tool for sharing ideas and collaborating on projects.

Wikis can be used to:

• Plan events: Library 2.0 on the Loose unconference
• Create directories: Library success: a best practices wiki
• Record procedures: Dallas Library policy and procedures
• Store files for sharing: Library grid
• Create encyclopedic works: Wikipedia

Watch this video for more details:

What’s In It For You?

Besides being just plain fun, wikis also have great benefits. Libraries all over the country have begun to use them to collaborate and share knowledge. Among their applications are pathfinder or subject guide wikis, book review wikis, ALA conference wikis and even library best practices wikis. Or maybe you can use this with your coworkers as you plan your next potluck to record who will bring what!

Try It Out!

Learn more about wikis:

What’s the difference? Choosing the right wiki TWiki, WetPaint, Stikipad, PHPWiki, SeedWiki, PBWiki, Wikispaces, MoinMoin, Netcipia… with all these different wikis to choose from you might have a difficult time deciding which wiki is most suited to your project. A tool you might find useful for comparing the features of various wikis is Wikimatrix. The Wikimatrix website has several useful features for comparing any number of more than 80 wiki engines listed.

Look at some library wikis and blog about your finding.

Here’s a few examples to get you started:

• SJCPL Subject Guides – a pathfinder wiki developed by the St. Joseph County Public Library system
• Book Lovers Wiki – developed by the Princeton Public Library
• ALA 2007 Conference Wiki – an example of a wiki created to support a specific event

Post your thoughts about wikis on your blog:

• What did you find interesting?
• What types of applications within libraries might work well with a wiki?

More To Explore: build your own wiki!

So you want to build a wiki? The folks at Webjunction have put together a list of points to consider as you evaluate how to proceed.

Use these resources to learn more aboout wikis:

Wiki’s: A Beginner’s Look – an excellent short slide presentation that offers a short introduction and examples.

Using Wikis to Create Online Communities – a good overview of what a wiki is and how it can be used in libraries.

PB Wiki Tour – Find out how this collaborative tool can be used:

Next up: #11 Social Bookmarking with Delicious