Blog V Wiki

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 A blog is an online journal that enables anyone to share their thoughts, experiences and knowledge by uploading a series of posts which are displayed in a reverse chronological order. A wiki, on the other hand, is a website that allows its users to easily edit the content or structure of that page by simply pressing “edit” and “save.” Essentially both wikis and blogs enable its users to share information and be able to communicate with anyone around the world that has access to the internet. Both can also contain hyperlinks and images that would help to further support any content that is already available. Differences between blog and wiki arise mainly in the way that users are able to collaborate. Blogs have limited collaboration since users are only able to continue communicating with one another using the comment section under a post. They do not have the ability to directly alter the information on the original post itself. Wikis, however, permit collaboration by allowing users to directly make changes or contributions to any information that is available on the website. 

In order to use blogs for collaboration users should be able to facilitate a conversation with one another by expressing their ideas or thoughts through the comment section. For example, the article “Wal-Mart Tastemakers Write Unfiltered Blog” by Micheal Barbaro claims that Wal-Mart’s corporate blog “helps buyers solicit quick feedback from consumers on the merchandise and shows a softer side of the giant company.” This shows how the blog creates a conversation regarding the appeal or disapproval of products sold by the company. The consumers are free to voice their opinions, which the company can use as feedback on how to further improve. Blogs enable people to easily start a conversation by making a post or comment.

In today’s networked world, convergence is important because it enables us as human beings to continuously share, learn new information and connect with others. By converging on digital platforms such as blogs and wikis people are able to become more aware of the world that they are living in. For example, the article “Brooklyn Blog Helps to Lead Drug Raid” by Micheal Wilson exemplifies how the blog helped the community become more aware of the illicit activities that were happening in their own area. The bloggers would document what they were witnessing and communicate with one another regarding any updates of their neighborhood. In fact the article states, the “core group of seven people who met through the blog brought the case to the attention of the community board and met with the authorities.” This shows how the blog helped to facilitate a conversation among users in a way that not only helped the community itself learn more about the illegal activities, but lead to an action to help their neighborhood stay safer. 

Converging is also essential for businesses in today’s highly digital, fast paced society because it allows the company to constantly improve. Companies like Wal-Mart use corporate blogs to connect with customers by giving them the ability to post their critiques or satisfactory reviews on their products. Wikis also play a big role in a company. As the article “Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on making the most of company wikis” by Gardiner Mose states, companies “use wikis to aggregate the knowledge of their far-flung employees, creating a place for them to electronically converge and collaborate on everything from planning meetings and documenting best practices to brainstorming about new products and processes.” Wikis and blogs help companies not only in relation to their consumers, but also to effectively manage internal processes. 

Wikis are already being used in multiple areas ranging from education to business. A new way in which wikis can be used would be on college campuses to help assemble all the information regarding clubs and events. This would allow clubs to work closely with one another to collaborate on events and ensure that major events do not overlap. In addition, it would allow students to easily keep track of all club related information on one website. 



Work Cited:


  1. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on making the most of company wikis. A Conversation with Jimmy Wales by Gardiner Morse. Harvard Business Review, April 2008. https://hbr.org/2008/04/wikipedia-founder-jimmy-wales-on-making-the-most-of-company-wikis

  2. Wal-Mart Tastemakers Write a Blunt and Unfiltered Blog, NY Times, march 3, 2008, p. C1 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/03walmart.html

  3. Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid By MICHAEL WILSON The New York Times June 26, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26bayridge.html

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