Blogs VS. Wikis

Blogs and Wikis are both forms of communication that derived from the Internet. They are created with the intention to share information to a wide audience.

Blogs are websites used for one's own opinion, thoughts or information, usually on a daily basis. Anyone from individuals to companies can write a blog and the blog can contain anything. The author reflects their personality through the blog by the content, the tone of the posts, and the layout. The main difference between blogs and Wikis is that blogs are more personal. Unlike Wikis, blogs are also in journal format where posts are in chronological descending order, while Wikis have categories. Another difference between Wikis and blogs is that readers are allowed to comment on a post in a blog. This allows the author to get feedback from readers and creates communication between the readers and the author. Sometimes blogs can be collaborative and helpful for a cause or case. Such an example would be how a Brooklyn blog helped lead to a drug raid. According to a New York Times article, readers on a blog commented and gave feedback on a post that helped the police. On a neighborhood blog BayRidgeTalk.com, a one person posted “Fighting and drug deals going down in the driveway of this house,” about a home steeped in reports of suspicious activity. Another person replied, “I’ve heard loud fighting for almost a year now but did not realize until recently that it’s a crack house.” One of the bloggers have gave a detailed description of the crack house and months later police raided the two neighborhood crack houses, arresting the suspects. Blogs are usually the work of one individual, but blogs can be used for collaboration.

Wikis are more informational, less opinionated and personal. They share information with the masses. Wikis allow a group of users to create and edit posts by others or themselves. (CIO) Wikis are shared databases that can be edited by anyone who has access to it. Unlike blogs where there is usually one author, Wikis have many knowledgeable contributors who help keep the content updated.
Both blogs and Wikis are important in today’s networked world. They both impact the way people communicate with each other. People rely on them for information and some are used for research. Posting the information on blogs, opens up a two way channel of communication between the authors and the readers. It allows readers to voice their opinions and thoughts and share them with other peers as well. Wikis have provided a wide knowledge base for the masses. A person who is interested and curious about a subject matter can learn about it without researching through different websites and books. Wikis have allowed the masses to learn by providing information. Although people do say don't use Wiki for research because they can be unreliable because anyone can edit it and some people can add unrelated or misleading information. Blogs and Wikis are important tools of communication in today’s world.

I believe that a Wiki can be created for each College and only giving professors and students the access to edit. This is a useful way for students and faculty to build a connection and add pages for different activities and updates such a different page for classes, information, events, etc. This will create an organized way to show all information on the college and a great way of presenting and collaboration within the college community.

Articles cited:
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26bayridge.html?_r=0
CIO: http://www.cio.com/article/336818/More_on_How_to_Build_Your_Own_Wikipedia?page=1&taxonomyId=3130