Blogs vs Wikis

           The creation of blogs and wikis have had a major impact on the way people share ideas, express themselves, and interact with one another. Both act as a medium for information, but do so in different ways. Blogs are usually made by individuals, who are able to perform tasks, such as writing posts and adding pictures. They also offer the opportunity to comment on other blogs. In contrast, wikis are more of a group effort. Anyone can edit the content and everyone is a contributor. Although different from wikis, blogs also create a sense of community and may be used for collaboration, as demonstrated through a popular Brooklyn blog. According to Michael Wilson, in “Brooklyn Blog Leads to Drug Raid,” members would frequently post complaints and share horror stories of a group of local drug dealers on their local blog. These complaints were eventually taken to the community board and police department, which led to the successful arrest of three men.

With the pace of rapidly growing technology, the world is becoming a smaller place, as people from all over the globe are now connected through new means of communication. New media such as blogs and wikis are creating a sense of community on the internet as information passes freely from one user to the next. The creation of wikis has also had a major impact in the corporate world as well, which was summed up in Ezra Goodnoe’s article “How to use Wikis for Business.” According to the article, wikis allow for a cheap and easy way to share professional business content among team members. Not only this but another major advantage is the fact that it allows users to create their own structure rather than having one imposed on them from outside developers.

                I believe wikis may also provide a great educational tool for students as well. If professors posted class lectures and homework onto a wiki, students would have no problem obtaining missed notes or going back and reviewing something that they did not understand. A wiki would also create a community among classrooms, allow students to quickly correct problems and mishaps, and let individuals ask for help from their peers.

To bring this discussion to a close, an essential thing to remember is that when it comes to new technologies such as blogs and wikis, it is important to understand that just because something can be shared on the internet, does not necessarily mean it should be shared.