In a Wiki World

                Wikis, finally a topic I have some familiarity with.  I have been using wikis for several years now, from Wikipedia to Wikihow.  Wikis are especially relevant in our increasingly speed driven society.  A wiki is a website that can either focus on a single subject or a broad range of topics.  The most popular being Wikipedia, it has pages on just about anything or anyone, you may have an interest in.  Wikis allow their users to edit and update the information, while this is often not the most accurate source for information gathering, it’s a great way to get a quick overview of a subject.

            I am a frequent user of wikis, if all I need is a quick run-down; often my first choice is to check Wikipedia.  As long as people bear in mind that, since wikis can be edited by anyone, they should not be using them as their chief source of information.  Generally the more popular a topic is, the more accurate the information is.  For example, if I want to find information on the moon landing it is likely that the information will be accurate because there are so many people on the web with an interest in the same topic.  I love using wikis, but I would steer clear of them if I was writing an essay.

            In my multimedia class, we went through 3 different wiki sites; Wikia, Wetpaint, and PBwiki.   I had not heard of any of these before.  My favorite out of the 3 was Wikia, it had any eye pleasing layout and was very easy to navigate.  I had trouble finding what I was looking for with the other 2, but I found the way the topics were sorted on Wikia to be very user friendly.  I think I will be using it in the future.

            I think there is a lot of use libraries could get out of wikis; it just requires thinking outside the box a little bit.  For example, you could index all the books in the libraries catalogue and give people a chance to write reviews.  You could also have recommendations given based on a book you liked.  Libraries can also usewikis to collaborate with one another.  Where I grew up, there were 4 libraries that worked together sharing materials, I’m sure they could make use of a cooperative wiki site.