Wikity whack

This week's topic has been one of my favourites so far, and I was excited to find out what wikis are and what they can offer.   It's really starting to become clear how each software takes a unique approach that can be useful for certain situations. I didn't know what a wiki was before Wikipedia emerged, but am already finding it to be useful in collaborating for my group project.  It was initially suggested that we arrange to "chat" but when another student decided to create a wiki I felt this to be a much more realistic idea for group work, because let's face it, people are busy.  Oftentimes we only have a few minutes here and there to work on something, so creating a central area to discuss and brainstorm at your own leisure provides great flexibility for our fast-paced society. Wikis just make sense.

I enjoyed reading Stacy Schiff's article of how Wikipedia came about, since I am an avid user and have contributed things myself to see how it works.  To be honest, this is often one of the first places I'll go to find information (albeit, not for academic work), especially if I need a general idea about a topic.  I especially appreciate the disclaimers that are posted at the beginning of pages that warns users of potential biased or incorrect entries.  The arguments against Wikipedia usually point to how anyone may contribute, which yields online fueds, inaccuracies and sloppy writing (Schiff: "The entries can read as though they had been written by a seventh grader"). Indeed, the entries are not well-crafted and graceful and flowy.... but I think that's the beauty of it.  When people want the facts, they aren't very concerned with this.  Finally, a little controversy is a good thing.  If Wikipedia generates discussion, gets people excited and interested, then I think this aspect  overrides the need for "perfect" information...which probably doesn't exist anyway, because information inherently changes as the world changes and new discoveries are made.

Meredith Farkas opened my eyes about how wikis can be valuable in a library setting.  Along with creating community hubs, subject guides, and internal library tools, I found the idea of mimicking Amazon's approach to a catalogue by adding user reviews and synopses to be a fantastic one, and I think this is an important way to reconnect with patrons who have been finding more useful sources over the library.  It will be interesting to see the results of OCLC's implementation of this into WorldCat. If you can't beat em, join em, right?