First of all- my apologies for not updating last week. It was mid-term week at the University of Georgia, so I was a busy, busy student! But, I’ve recovered and am ready to write!
In one of my classes this week, we are learning about wikis. According to Wikipedia (probably the best-known wiki), a wiki is “a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.” Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia with more than 10 million articles posted to the site.
Since Wikipedia was launched in 2001, there have been a number of sites created folowing the wiki model. The Wikimedia Foundation, which created Wikipedia, hosts 11 different wiki projects ranging from Wikiquote to Wikispecies to Wikiversity. 
There are also a number of other sites powered by MediaWiki (not to be confused with the Wikimedia Foundation) that other people created. MediaWiki is a software package that allows other sites to have design layouts and functions similar to Wikipedia, which helps users who are familiar with the well-known Wikipedia site navigate these wikis. Wikitravel is one of many examples.
While wikis are not extremely new in the media world, I challenge you to think about how wikis could be incorporated into your businesses’ communication strategy. If you already have one, does someone check it regularly to ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date? If not, is it really helping your company? If you don’t have one, how would creating one aid your organization and increase its reach? What might you discover about your company through the contributions of outsiders?
I’d also encourage anyone who has never contributed to a wiki to try it! All wiki sites are based on the belief that collaborative writing strengthens the site as an informational resource. However, be warned that occasionally because it is entirely user-generated, articles may be “vandalized” and display inaccurate information. But, that simply provides informed users an additional opportunity to further their contribution to the site!
New Media = New Ideas 