Thing #1: Wikis
What's a Wiki?
Watch the video over on the right for a quick explanation of a Wetpaint wiki.Wikis are web sites that can be viewed and modified by users directly. They support online collaboration and communication, and are super easy to use. No techy skills necessary!
Discovery Exercise
Although Baker's Dozen (the First Batch) is no longer an active program, you can still work on the wiki.
- Open a second window or tab so you can have these instructions open. (Go to File > New Window or New Tab).
- In the new window or tab, go to the Wetpaint wiki for Baker's Dozen (the first batch).
- Click the "Join this site" button in the upper-right corner of the page to join that wiki.
- Go back to My Profile.
- Click on Easy Edit in your profile (look for a green oval on the upper left) and answer the questions in the box. Don't worry about posting an image right away; we'll be doing that in the next module.
- The Wetpaint wiki is a public wiki. Anyone can view all pages on this wiki. However, only invited members can edit it.
- You don't have to use your real name as your username. Feel free to use any work-appropriate username you'd like.
Why should you know about wikis?
One of the most popular websites in the world is a wiki. You probably guessed it already, it's Wikipedia. Wikipedia is so popular and influential that it recently was awarded a $3 million grant to "increase the quality of its content and the reach of its services."Our library users are using Wikipedia instead of reference books. Why? This format is easier to update than print, allows unlimited numbers of people to contribute, and is easily accessible on the web from anywhere in the world at any time of day. Can a print encyclopedia sitting on the shelf in a library claim any of those things?
Wikis are fully searchable, too. Look in the left-hand column for the search box. Since creating, editing, searching and contributing to a wiki is so easy, they've become very popular.
Possible library uses:
- Collaborative workspace for staff working on a large project (PCPL has done this for big projects, like the Tucson Festival of Books, which we are helping coordinate)
- As a subject guide for complex subjects like business
- As an FAQ site for those hard-to-research questions you don't want to look up again
More information for the curious
Threads
Feel free to post questions and concerns and respond to others comments in the threads at the bottom of this page as well. Remember, learning and collaboration are the reason we're here.
Wiki Features
On wikis, you can:
- Send another member a message.
- Edit your profile whenever you like.
- Start discussion threads at the bottom of each page OR on the Discussion Forum tab.
- Upload photos to the photo gallery.
Wiki Communities
Most people who visit wikis out on the web are readers. Some people become contributors or editors, if they have a strong enough interest. On Wikipedia, many people contribute, because the site is so popular. Yes, people can write things that are not true, but the community is so large that errors are caught quickly and corrected quickly. When people are invested in a community like Wikipedia, they work to keep it accurate.
Revisions
Wikis keep track of revisions made to each page. So if you change a page, then I change a page, we can both go back to see the previous versions of that page.
Other Wikis
Wikipedia is not the only wiki out there. Some other examples of popular wikis include:
- wikiHow - an online How To wiki
- Wiktionary - an online dictionary
- Wikitravel - a worldwide travel guide
Wiki Services
Wiki services are not all equal. The wiki you're looking at is provided by Wetpaint, which allows people to create free wikis, invite any number of people to help keep them up-to-date, and lets people upload photos, embed videos, and create profiles. Wetpaint hosts the site for you. You don't need a web server, an I.T. staff, or any money at all. Why is that? They allow ads. You might have seen them up at the top left, below the table of contents. The ads pay for the service, so you don't have to. Many free web 2.0 sites have ads on them.
Other wiki services may offer different features. Some are paid services. This usually allows your wiki to be ad free. It may also let you customize the wiki or add your own branding, They may or may not allow you to upload images. When we were looking for a way to host Baker's Dozen, we looked at the WikiMatrix to compare features.
Other free wiki services:
Why "wiki?"
Wiki comes from "wiki wiki," a Hawaiian term for "quick." Wikis are quick to set up, quick to learn, and quick to edit.
Back to The 13 Things.
