What is Wikis?
At its simplest expression, a wiki is a web page that anybody can edit. The spirit behind the original wiki idea is that any user of the World Wide Web could now read and write at the same time using their web browser, therefore simplifying the web editing process.
Figures 1 represents a traditional web page editing and publishing process, where the author pushes content to a passive crowd of internet users. Figure 2, on the other hand, illustrates what a wiki web page is: a page that is readable and editable by every user.Typical Usage of Wikis (What Wikis Are Good For)
Wikis are used to support a large number of different activities. Here are some of the most common ways wikis are used.
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Brainstorming: When starting a specific project or a creative process, participants are invited to add items and thoughts on a wiki. They are also asked to link all these random thoughts and concept together in order to stimulate creativity.
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Group project: A wiki can act as a private intranet for a specific group project so all participants can communicate, share resources (including texts, videos, spreadsheets, links, etc.), and write a report or a book together.
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Meeting support: An agenda for a specific meeting is posted on a wiki and participants are invited to consult and edit it prior to a meeting. The wiki is edited during the meeting to include was discussed. Participants can later use the wiki to post missing information or follow‐up items. This technique is also very useful for training, presentations, and birds of a feather sessions during conferences.
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Make lists: From a list of best restaurants in town to a glossary of terms used in a specific field of expertise, a wiki is a great way to organize this kind of content. In the same spirit, wikis can also be used to build an online repository of relevant documents or FAQs.
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Collections of links: Wikis can be used for social bookmarking. They give to all participants the possibility to post, comment, group, and classify links of all nature or in a specific field of expertise.
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Writing a collective letter, position, statement, web content: When writing something that is intended for an official legal instance, to clients, to upper management or to the general public, a wiki is an excellent tool to reach a consensus, define key ideas, and write down the content to be clear and non‐offensive.
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Building a group portfolio: Any organization can use a wiki to post past projects, testimonials from clients, history of the organization, etc. This kind of portfolio is a powerful marketing tool. Page
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