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November 04, 2008

A quick look at wikis (Q&A, part 5)

This is the final installment on my mission to answer questions from the web cast I led last Wednesday, “Engaging Employees During Uncertain Times.” During the session, I mentioned that we have a great opportunity to use new Web 2.0 tools, like wikis, to encourage employee participation.

Q: What’s a wiki?

A: Wiki is a Hawaiian word for “quick” that has, in the web world, has come to mean “a page or collection of web pages that allows any user to contribute or modify content,” according to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

(By the way, there’s been some debate about the reliability of Wikipedia, because it’s not a true encyclopedia edited by experts, but so democratic that it’s possible for entries to be factually incorrect. Yet people increasingly rely on Wikipedia for “credible information,” according to a survey by the Pew Internet Research project: 36% of Americans consult Wikipedia, and 50% of college-educated Americans do so.)

Q: Can you provide more details on wikis? Where are some examples and how can you get started?

A: The tech magazine InformationWeek regularly features articles on how companies are using wikis and other Web 2.0 tools. Here are some recent stories:

• Using a Wiki in Your Enterprise

• Pfizer's Cyberpunks Drive Social Computing

• Wachovia Turns To Wikis

• CIA's Secret Intellipedia

Q: How do you know whether to use a wiki, a blog, social networking or some other tool?

A: The same way you make any decision about how best to use a communication channel: based on your objectives. If your objective is to create a forum where employees can collaborate to create content, a wiki is for you.

Posted by Alison Davis at November 4, 2008 02:37 PM