Why Wikis Rock

If you have been confused about the exact utility and function of wikis, take a look at this very fun and accessible video clip by CommonCraft.

I have be a what you might call a "power-user" of the project management sofeware Basecamp for several years now. And, of Blogger. Oh, and TypePad (which powers this site).

Plus I've sunk oodles of time and ca$h into designing the Web2.0 app for graphic facilitators, MissingLink. All of the aforementioned tools are essentially mutant forms of a wiki--as is the ever popular source of all knowledge, Wikipedia. Each one of these browser-based tools allows multiple users (aka. people) to create, edit and participate in on-line communities.

My wife does not call me Mister Power User, however. She calls me a *geek* and wonders what the hell I kept working on in the corner.

Wikis used to be really ugly and clunky and not very fun to use. Now they are transforming the way we expect to work with others, especially our clients. The easiest, nicest and free-est wiki creation tool out there is brought to us by WetPaint.

I found the video on a wiki for 9th graders studying Asian Art. I figure if it communicates to 14-year-olds, it might just work for middle managers, too.

The use of this tool by a community follows several simple design principles.

But the simplest definition of a wiki is:

Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.

The benefits (besides easy creation and linking of webpages by multiple users) is summed up as:

• Trust - This is the most important thing in a wiki. Trust the people, trust the process, enable trust-building. Everyone controls and checks the content. Wiki relies on the assumption that most readers have good intentions.  
• Fun - Everybody can contribute; nobody has to.
• Sharing - of information, knowledge, experience, ideas, views...

Comments

[Aveis Roberts.]

I do agree that wikis rock! Especially if you don't have to remember all that syntax :) That's why I like tools built in wiki style, but simpler. Wrike - a tool that I use for project management can be a good example - http://www.wrike.com.