La Petite Claudine
INDEX:05 COMMUNITY -- WIKIMEDIA
nternet Tapping the World's Brainpower with Wiki
Blog software revolutionized the Web by making it easy for pundits to post their scoops and diatribes quickly and with little computer expertise. The role of blogs as an alternative journalistic voice in the U.S. 2004 elections marked the emergence of the blog as a major political, cultural, and social force. The next step in that revolution is coming from something called Wiki--software that allows not just one but thousands to contribute to a site quickly and easily. One of Wiki's first fruits is Wikipedia.org, a free online encyclopedia of 1 million-plus articles that has been whipped together entirely by volunteers in just four years.
Wiki is a community on a shoestring: quick and easy to implement, easy to maintain, informal in tone, and thus totally open. Wiki-based Web sites invite collaboration and rely on trust to prosper. Anyone can see and comment on what others post--say, a contribution on the history of Pittsburgh. Peer pressure generally stops people from posting incorrect or overly opinionated entries. The Wiki software handles all the technical gruntwork of weaving in new contributions. And because Wiki makes it so easy for large groups to cooperate on big projects, companies are beginning to use it, too.
INDEX:05 COMMUNITY -- WIKIMEDIA
nternet Tapping the World's Brainpower with Wiki
Blog software revolutionized the Web by making it easy for pundits to post their scoops and diatribes quickly and with little computer expertise. The role of blogs as an alternative journalistic voice in the U.S. 2004 elections marked the emergence of the blog as a major political, cultural, and social force. The next step in that revolution is coming from something called Wiki--software that allows not just one but thousands to contribute to a site quickly and easily. One of Wiki's first fruits is Wikipedia.org, a free online encyclopedia of 1 million-plus articles that has been whipped together entirely by volunteers in just four years.
Wiki is a community on a shoestring: quick and easy to implement, easy to maintain, informal in tone, and thus totally open. Wiki-based Web sites invite collaboration and rely on trust to prosper. Anyone can see and comment on what others post--say, a contribution on the history of Pittsburgh. Peer pressure generally stops people from posting incorrect or overly opinionated entries. The Wiki software handles all the technical gruntwork of weaving in new contributions. And because Wiki makes it so easy for large groups to cooperate on big projects, companies are beginning to use it, too.