Blogs vs. Wikis

Wikis and blogs are both new media platforms where people can contribute to a topic by virtually writing their ideas and information.  They are very useful in doing what they were created to do.  However, both platforms have their fair share of people who like to cause chaos.  People tend to write irrelevant information or post inapproriate things such as pornography.

They also have a fair amount of differences between the two platforms.  One major fact being that blogs are usually created and run by one person or one group.  Wikis on the other hand usually have multiple contributors of varying knowledge of a topic.  Blogs are used more to create a converstation between people where as wikis are for collaborating on a topic and sharing information on the same document.  Another main difference is that wikis have introduced “flagged revisions” which do not exist in blogs (Cohen).  These “flagged revisions” were put in place to assure that information being put on the wikis were accurate.  It is where an expert looks over the revisions and makes sure it is true and that it is talking about the correct topic.

In most aspects of life, convergence is important.  These blog and wiki platforms make it easier for people to put their minds together and be on the same page.  These platforms especially help businesses in many ways.  One being that people can exchange information between groups and people.  On wiki pages, businesses can share meeting notes, agendas, and important documents, allowing them all to be in one place (Goodnoe). 

The best way to show how blogs can be used for collaboration is to look at the Bay Ridge Talk blog.  Through people in the neighborhood writing what they have witnessed throughout the years, it lead to a drug bust.  Neighbors would write what they saw and heard to all other people in the neighborhood.  Eventually, five people ended up being arrested for what the neighbors had watched throughout the years (Wilson).

A new way that wikis can be used that may not have been done before is a place for people to study together.  Since convergence is an important and powerful thing, it could help students study for a topic efficiently.   Students can add information to the page for others to see and together people can form a information packed virtual study sheet.

Works Cited:

Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid By Michael Wilson, The New York Times, 
     June 26, 2008.
How to Use Wikis for Business," by Ezra Goodnoe, Information Week, August 8, 2005.
Wikipedia to Limit Changes to Articles on People" by Noam Cohen, The New York Times, 
     August 24, 2009.