Wikis
Basics, Tools and
Strategies
Meredith Farkas
October 22, 2006
Internet Librarian
What you will learn
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What a wiki is
What wikis are good for, what
they’re not so good for
How libraries and other groups are
successfully using wikis
How to get started with wikis
Tips on developing a successful wiki
What is a wiki?
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Content management system
Allows people to collaboratively
develop a Web site without any
tech-savvy
Wiki = quick (in Hawaiian)
All community members can add to
or edit the work of others
Wiki background
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Ward Cunningham and the Portland
Pattern Repository
Wikipedia
Conference wikis, fan wikis, wiki
knowledgebases
Wikis in the library! Still often
controlled access.
Organizations jump on the wiki
bandwagon
Wiki Structure
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All wikis start off as a single blank
page
Pages are created and connected by
hyperlinks
No ownership of pages; anyone can
change the work of others
Wiki Components
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Pages community members can add
to or edit (example)
Discussion area for each page
List of all of the changes made to a
particular page (version control)
List of all changes made to all
pages.
Wiki Syntax
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Ways to format text, change color,
create links, create tables, etc.
Wikipedia editor’s guide
Not difficult to learn, but different
Differences for each wiki
WYSIWYG is the future
Wikis
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vs.
No one owns
content
No specific
organization
(hyperlinks)
Anyone can edit
other people’s
work
Blogs
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A person owns
their post
Organized in
reverse chron.
order
Only author can
edit their own
work (others
can comment)
Wikis
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vs.
Perpetual work
in progress
Good for
collaborative
group work
Blogs
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Posts are
permanent
Good for
disseminating
info/starting a
dialogue
Why wiki?
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Easy to use
Web-based
Anyone can make changes
Findability (with database wikis)
Many free and open-source wikis
Flexible and extensible
Knowledge management (KM)
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All organizations want to make the
best use of organizational
knowledge
Most are really bad at it
Wiki is a great KM tool
Wiki = quick
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No editing in Dreamweaver, no
FTP-ing into the server.
No waiting for the Webmaster to
update your page.
Different people can be responsible
for different content areas
Collaboration
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Wikis are a great way to get
patrons/colleagues to participate in
building a Web space
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Resource guides
Conference
Book reviews
Area guides
You can learn a lot from your
patrons and colleagues!
Why not wiki?
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Too open (trust issues)
Concerns about ownership of content
Disorganized
Vandalism and spam
Wikis aren't for everyone. If control is a
major issue with the site you're
developing, then a wiki may not be right
for your project.
Wikis in Practice
How libraries can use wikis with their
patrons
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Community wiki
Subject guide wiki
Wiki as courseware
Wiki as Web site
Wiki for capitalizing on the collective
intelligence
Community wikis
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RocWiki (Rochester, NY)
Davis Wiki (Davis, CA)
Arbor Wiki (Ann Arbor, MI)
PGHWiki (Pittsburgh, PA)
Wikis that build community
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ICANN Wiki
Tax Almanac
Mandriva Club
Subject guides
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Ohio University Library’s Biz Wiki
St. Joseph County Public Library
Subject Guides
Wiki as Website and courseware
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University of South Carolina Aiken
Library Web site
Bull Run Library
Bemidji State University eRhetoric
course wiki
Capitalizing on the collective
intelligence
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Resource guides and book reviews
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ProductWiki
wikiXbox360
Princeton Public Library’s Book Lovers
Wiki
Wyoming Authors Wiki
How librarians can use wikis
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Staff Intranet
Collaborative document editing
Collaboratively-developed manual
Conference wikis
Knowledgebase
Planning space for conferences
Wiki as Intranet for info sharing
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Most are behind the firewall or are
password protected
SUNY Stonybrook Health Science
Library Wiki
University of Connecticut Library
Norwich University Library Public
Services Wiki
Collaborative document editing
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ZohoWriter
Writely
You could even just use something
like PBWiki!
Collaboratively-developed manual
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Print manuals are really hard to
update!
Antioch University New England
Library Staff Training and Support
Wiki
Conference wikis
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ALA 2005 Chicago Wiki
ALA 2006 New Orleans Wiki
CIL 2006 Wiki
IL 2006 Wiki
Wikimania 2006
Wiki as professional knowledgebase
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Library Success: A Best Practices
Wiki
Library Instruction Wiki
Qwiki: Quantum Physics Wiki
The New PR Wiki
Planning space for conferences
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Hard to plan a conference with
people from all over the place.
HigherEd BlogCon
BarCamp
PodCon
Wiki Tips
How to develop and maintain a
successful wiki
Wiki Tips: Software
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Popular options for wiki hosted on
your server
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MediaWiki
PmWiki
Twiki
SocialText ($$$)
XWiki
Confluence ($$$)
Wiki Tips: Software (cont’d)
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Popular Options for wikis hosted by the
software company
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PBWiki
WetPaint
SeedWiki
If you want control, no ads, etc., host the
wiki on your server.
If you don’t have server space, need the
wiki for a small time-limited project, or
are scared of maintaining a new tech, go
with a hosted wiki.
Check out the WikiMatrix when thinking
about which software to use
Choosing software: What to consider
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Programming language
Ease of installation
Security
Permissioning
Spam prevention
Ease of use
Cost
Version control
What to consider (cont’d)
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Syntax
Ability to hold discussions
RSS
Ability to change look
Extensions
Trajectory of development/support
of development
Wiki Tips: Seeding the wiki
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No one wants to add to an empty
wiki
Also, people often don’t know what
to add
Add some content to the major
categories before going live
Creating an organizational scheme
will prevent orphan links and chaos
Wiki Tips: Documentation
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Wikis need lots of info for novice users
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What is a wiki
What can you do with this wiki
How to edit the wiki
FAQ
Whom to contact for more help
Prepare for lots of questions!
Wikipedia has lots of good documentation
for MediaWiki users
Wiki Tips: Content development
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Do lots of marketing
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Blogs
E-mail lists and forums
Publications (write an article on wikis!)
Partner with groups/people related
to your mission
Give the wiki a grassroots feel,
make it welcoming.
Wiki Tips: Management
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Security
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Should you require registration?
Dealing with spam
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Install spam-killing plugins or blacklists
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Monitor the wiki several times a day
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Bad Behavior plugin rocks!
Get to know and love RSS
Find lots of dedicated helpers!!!
How to deal with posts you don’t like
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Guidelines
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Limit to on-topic posts
Take a note from the Wikipedia’s
policies and guidelines
Get a committed group of
volunteers to patrol a public wiki
If you need to delete something use discussion area to explain why
things were deleted.
Questions? Comments?
Meredith Farkas
mgfarkas at gmail dot com
http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/
AIM: librarianmer