BLOG vs. WIKI

While not quite a Celebrity Deathmatch, the Blog vs. Wiki is definitely a hot debate. I have spent the last year and a half on a committee that debated the very thing- in the end we chose wiki- and I'll tell you why in a minute. Before we chose it, we (meaning myself and a few others) needed to educate and convince the rest of the committee what a wiki was in the first place.

Wikis don't quite have the recognition or quick I-get-it-factors that blogs now have. Ex: "Oh it's an online diary- I get it." Or, "Oh, it has static entries in reverse chronological order that people can post- I get it."

This is me trying to quickly explain a wiki to my mom:

"Mom, it's a dynamic, collaborative online database that anyone can instantly
edit, change and modify!"
"Hmmmm, so people can add to it from wherever?"
"Yep."
"Hmmmm, your father was just saying that he wants people to start compiling
stories for the Family Reunion in August."
"A wiki would be perfect for that!"

Check out this video "Wikis in Plain Language" if you want to learn more.

Blogs are great for recording thoughts and sharing news in linear and one-way fashions. Wikis are better suited for storing data and collaborative work. The committee I'm on was charged to create on online forum where health information professionals who serve Native peoples could network and share ideas, programs and best practices. We decided to use a wiki- Mediawiki to be exact - to set such a thing up. (I will add the link as soon as we're out of test mode- hopefully in the next few weeks!)