Blogs and wikis are two new media
technologies that are commonly used today on the internet. Blogs are web pages,
normally created and updated by a single individual, that acts as a personal
journal for written opinion, photographs, and even videos. Followers of a blog
may read such entries and submit comments on the blog. On the other hand, wikis are web pages that
can be viewed and edited by all of its users. These web pages tend to amass
large amounts of information as all users contribute to the content of wikis in
a collaborative effort. As new media technologies, blogs and wikis are similar
in that they provide for effortless transfer of information and communication.
They are different in that wikis are considered to be the result of several
people's input, with more collaboration, and blogs focus on the perspective of one person.
Without a doubt, convergence through
technological means is important in today's world. Communication is essential
in most of everything that we do in our everyday lives, including career and
academics. The technology, such as blogs and wikis, allows us to transfer
information with ease, thus allowing success through collaboration and joint
effort. Although blogs may be considered less of a collaborative effort than
wikis, it is still acknowledged that blogs can be used for collaboration. Blogs
offer the perspective of a single individual, including information that may
not be accessible elsewhere, and the users may obtain this information and utilize
such information for larger objectives. For example, the article,
"Brooklyn Blog Helps Leads to Drug Raid," talks about a blog that
rants about suspicious activity, relating to illegal drugs, in a neighboring
home and the attention lead law enforcement to take action. The article states,
"But peering turned to blogging, and blogging turned to action, as
neighbors started filing complaints with the 68th Precinct station house and
attending Community Board 10 meetings and generally making noise until a
narcotics investigation began, leading to the arrests." The collective
effort of the viewers of the blog within the article demonstrates perfectly
that blogs can be used for collaboration and create appealing results.
As of today, wikis are noticeably
being used more commonly, and for all types of different purposes. Many
businesses are even incorporating the technology into the workplace. According
to the article, "Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on making the most of
company wikis," Jimmy Wales states, "In many organizations, wikis are
sneaking in the back door. The rank and file are installing the software on the
corporate network, because they're finding that wikis are the best way to get
their work done." It is acknowledged that some companies are not mandating
the use of wikis but they are still being used, by employees, due to its positive
effects on efficiency. Yet, there are still many possible, new ways to use
wikis. I believe that the use of wikis can be implemented into communities, and
neighborhoods that we all reside within, and local governments. A public wiki,
for each individual district, that is accessible to people with concerns and the
local government, allows for individuals to voice their problems with less
difficulty and for the local government to become aware of these problems. This
implementation would not only increase communication between citizens and their
representatives but also makes it easier to determine the priority of users, or
the community.
Citation:
Morse, Gardiner. "Wikipedia
Founder Jimmy Wales on Making the Most of Company Wikis." Harvard
Business Review. N.p., Apr. 2008. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
Wilson, Michael. "Brooklyn
Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 26 June 2008. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
