Has anyone heard of Wiki strategies? I, for one, have not.
I am opinionated that Wikipedia is just wikipedia - (yet another) platform/database of information(obviously). How could there even be the different types of strategies for that channel? It does not make any sense to me at all.
So, out of curiosity, and in order to try to prove everyone else wrong(or RIGHT), I went around doing some research on the different types of Wiki Strategies.
Here is what I have found:
Okie, I have to admit I do not even know the definition of a wiki, apart from the common term of 'wikipedia'. So, Wiki is defined as 'A wiki s a website which allows its users to add, modify, or delete its content via a web browser usually using a simplified markup language or a rich-text editor'.
Pardon me! How more un-original can I be, other than finding the authentic definition from its original website eh! ;)
Some of the common uses of wiki by the organisations are:
1) Developer Network channels - like a forum for developers to discuss about any technical issues they have encountered, or even technical knowledge that they would like to share amongst their communities of developers.
2) Technical Documentation - to mainly store technical information of all sorts, and across all industries.
3) Effective knowledge sharing - Perhaps this would only work out for bigger organisations, so that employees in the different departments can share their operational knowledge with each other, instead of asking each other for answers up front.
That said, in my perspective, it is of course, most important, to gather feedback from the main bulk users - people like you and me(who are the technologically savvy ones, i believe ;) ). Being the group of people who use the system, we can provide genuine inputs as to what is lacking with the system - improve and what is not - in that sense, to further enhance the already-good product.
Interestingly, I found this fact about 'The First Wiki':
"The first wiki was a complement to the Portland Pattern Repository, created on March 25, 1995 by Ward Cunningham, who based the name on the Hawaiian term 'wiki wiki', which means 'quick.'"
It is amazing how Sony Ericsson has its own internal wiki - but obviously they don't call it wiki, but it is mainly their own internal website for their internal sharing, mainly their developers.
In addition, before I finish off, here are some links which I thought were pretty good:
http://www.elevatorview.com/2008/01/08/7-effective-wiki-uses-and-the-companies-that-benefit-from-them/
http://www.businessofgovernment.org/sites/default/files/Using%20Wikis%20in%20Government.pdf
Hey Yvonne,
ReplyDeleteWikipedia is a pretty gold example of what a wiki could turn out like. Another positive about wiki's is that they reduce the amount of email traffic between project teams significantly. I am not sure a wiki is used to gather feedback from end users but rather to deposit knowledge mostly.
I hope your enjoying your "holidays" ;)
Hey Adam!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I had returned from Singapore from the Grand Prix. It was awesome! And had my family here with me for the whole of last week too. Been busy but all good, back to reality, unfortunately! ;)
Yeah, I agree with you. It is definitely also a good source/channel of sharing information between internal teams/organisations, which would reduce significant amount of email traffic amongst the working teams.
Hi Yvonne.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post.
Another benefit from wiki to be added to the list is the shared information will be there even the employee leave the company, so others can use the information in the future.
Other point is related to traceability, in other words, how easy is to find the information you are looking for. Indeed the "search" feature in wikis can bring the information we are looking for much faster and easier, also we can follow the content via RSS and that way keep connected to the information.
In my job we are using Jira and Confluence and I can see the benefits and increasing in productivity.
Charles
http://charlestontelles.wordpress.com
Hey Charles,
Deletethat's exactly right. I agree with you, that one of the main benefits is when one employee leaves the company, that information/knowledge is still being retained in the company's wiki.
That is true. RSS feed is an equally important one for the community to be informed about the latest information.
Hey Yvonne,
ReplyDeleteYour point about knowledge sharing is a good one. I think most companies have realized that implementing a wiki means getting more knowledge to more people more quickly. I think corporations are moving to a point where they are starting to think less traditionally and more in line with the way technology allows information to flow. Instead of traditional escalation, information gathering is becoming more of a fishing exercise, and the bigger the pond the better wouldn't you say ? :) A work place wide wiki from the cleaner to the general manager is a pretty big pond.
Hey Adam!
Deletethanks! Yes, I guess these days, more and more organisations are starting to realise the importance of having a wiki on their internal intranet, just to benefit their staff and the company.
Definitely, information is getting more and more important these days, so much so that organisations even purchase them at a fee at times.
Hi Yvonne,
ReplyDeleteI recently found out about wikispaces. It is a great web 2.0 tool especially for group assignments. Wikis are a great collaborative and knowledge sharing tool. Many organisations have actually adopted wikis like Intel. They call theirs Intelpedia.
Great post!
Feel free to check out mine - http://marayka.wordpress.com/