Blogs vs. Wikis

In comparing and contrasting these two social media tools, you must first look at what they do.

A Blog is a tool where individual users provide their opinions in a form of a stream of consciousness. The users share their ideas and thoughts on many different topics. This tool can be commmented on by others, but it cannot be edited. It can be conversational and helpful and is made to be the view and opinions of an individual.

A Wiki is a website that users post facts and answers. This tool is used to obtain informative facts and the information can be edited by different users. The word wiki means quick, and this tool provides quick information on current events, or any other source of information. A source of wiki is the Wikipedia. This is a tool which provides encycopedia facts and links up with Google and Yahoo.

In comparing Blogs to Wikis, Blogs are used by individuals who want to share their experiences and opinions. Other bloggers use this tool to provide tips and advise based on their personal perspectives and exposures. Wikis on the other hand can be modified by any user and updated at any time. It is a tool that is more factfinding based and can be used in a corporate environment to share agendas, and meeting notes. It is a website where communities and special interest groups can update useful information. One of the differences between a Blog and Wiki, is that Blogs are like reading someone's journal. It feels personal and the conversation aspect can feel like you are talking to your neighbor or sharing tips with your train buddy. Wikis, on the contrast, are pieces of collective information that is used to provide a distinct objective. It strives to provide facts and information that, if streamlined and controlled is more of an answering tool versus an opinion tool. However, in comparison, both sites provide information and are both social tools that give users a voice to be heard. They are a social software that considered new media tools that provide quick sources of data.

The importance of convergence in today's networked world is about the speed of knowledge. The "Wikiblogs" can combine facts with opinions, similar to a site like Tripadvisor. The users are provided with factual information and then are given the opinions and rating of the travelers in their own words. The information you receive is based on experience, like a Blog, with factual information, like a Wiki and they are meshed together for a product of that offers facts, tips and advise. Bringing these two tools together can also bring another type of voice to new media. One that find the facts and provides the comments and criticism that goes with it.

You can collaborate blogs and pool together collective opinions on one site that can give voices on a specific topic. Like the celebrity blogs, you pool together opinions on one topic. In the article

Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid

these bloggers on the website BayRidgeTalk.com, collectively discussed and clearly advised the readers where drug dealers were. This group collaborated to take action against crime. Also in the Walmart article,

Wal-mart Tastemakers Write Unfiltered Blogs

shoppers of Walmart formed a collaborate blog to discuss their true feelings versus that blog that Walmart themselves.

A new use of Wikis could be to promote a brand or product. If a company wants to launch a newly developed product. They could start a wiki that provides information on what the product does and give details pertaining to its origin and development. Wiki could also be used to learn about candidates running in a political race. Giving information on the candidate, his issues, the current debates and having users comment about their opinions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/03walmart.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26bayridge.html
http://www.cio.com/article/189150/How_to_Build_Your_Own_Wikipedia
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/technology/internet/25wikipedia.html?_r=1