Visit the Crawford Education wiki to see a good example of how other people on campus are using wikis.

Blogging, Social Networking, Flckr, Wikis and Twitter might all be meaningless jargon to lots of people - but they all provide new opportunities for voluntary and community sector organisations to reach out and engage with new audiences.

A handbook produced by the ICT Hub and the Media Trust explains these new methods of interactive communication.  The booklet is filled with good advice and stories about how the new media is being used.

"How to use New Media" is being distributed here as a 76 page PDF document by Blackpool SURF courtesy of the Lancashire VCFS Consortium, ICT & Communications Working Group.

"IMAGINE
The Council was due to make its decision about the waste ground tomorrow. Councillor Smith sat by his computer and looked at the site. He was used to the group’s rhetoric now but there was something different on the site. There was a photo of the ground and a link that said: “more”. Councillor Smith clicked on the link and suddenly his screen was filled with pictures. There were ones of children playing, football teams, and a group of Scouts building a den from trees. There were pictures of kite flyers and dog walkers, old ladies with a flask of tea on a bench, cyclists, and walkers. There were pictures by amateur photographers of the waste ground at sunset. There were out-of-focus camera phone self-portraits. What was more these pictures all shared a common title: ‘Save Ambridge Common’ and they had attracted comments from well beyond Ambridge. People in surrounding villages left best wishes. People from around the world were asking to be kept in touch on the fate of the waste ground. Councillor Smith turned his  attention to the proposal to be voted on tomorrow. He was no longer facing a couple of activists... he was facing a community."

From chapter on Flickr in How to use New Media

Now I am trying to make make the wiki aesthetically pleasing. There are little niggling things in Deki Wiki that you would think are easy to fix but aren't. I turned to the help manual which is clearly not aimed at novices like me. It resorts to jargon and telepathy to help the cerebrally challenged. I eventually worked out myself what I needed to do but it took me three times longer than it should have done. Help manual, indeed ...

I have had lots of fun fiddling with the various Wiki's I've set up for each of the ideas I'm working on though (if I stuck to just one I'd more than likely get bored and give up - with 3, I can just switch).  So I have been productive (world building and plotting), I just haven't met those specific goals.

The book I'm reading keeps making me want to write, so next week - well this week now - there will be word count goals!  It's faaaar harder to shirk those bad boys!

Lego Factory is the name that the Lego people have given the site. There is a gallery of all the products designed so you can browse any creation you like and buy it. The customer details are featured on each gallery so Lego can also track who is using their site and also get valuable market research on future product ranges. What amazes me about this innovation is that the marginal costs are very low to Lego and therefore it can produce additional profits quite quickly.

As a former UK eCommerce Toy Retailer, what I find particular interesting about the gallery of products created by customers, is that nearly all the products are buildings and that the age range is mid 30's upwards. Maybe Lego should start to consider a Top 10 or Top20 in sales and also allow peer to peer comments and reviews??

Can your company innovate this way? Are your competitors doing this now?  There are many other examples of US companies using collaborative innovation with their customers to compete in an opensource economy.

Please email me if you would like us to help your company embrace customer innovation office@socialnetit.com

Pete Doyle
Founder, SocialNetIT.com 

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1520994&w=425&h=350&fv=baseurl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.fliqz.com%2Fplayers%2F%26homeLink%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.fliqz.com%26watermarkimg%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.fliqz.com%2Fplayers%2Fpbwiki%2Fimg%2Fpbwiki_watermark.png%26watermark%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fpbwiki.com%2F%26hidepanel%3D1%26allowFullScreen%3Dtrue%26serverName%3Dcontent.Fliqz.com%26file%3Ddc6229a0f3444fac950c31507ea14cff%26autoplay%3D0%26progressive%3D1%26staticPlayer%3D0%26playerSkin%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.fliqz.com%2Fplayers%2Fpbwiki%2Fswf%2FPBWiki.swf]

Gehen wir fünf Grundmuster der Sphäre einmal exemplarisch kurz durch:

1. Chats verkörpern einen "privaten" Kommunikationsfluss zwischen zwei oder mehr eingeladenen Gesprächsteilnehmern. Sie finden adhoc und in Echtzeit statt. Es gibt keinen öffentlichen Raum, wo andere den Chatverlauf verfolgen können. Chats sind private Unterhaltungen unter Ausschluss der allgemeinen grossen Öffentlichkeit. Einzelne Chatverläufe können individuell von den Nutzern gespeichert und gesichert werden.
2. Foren dienen der öffentlichen thematischen "Diskussion". Foren sind organisiert in Kategorien, unter die jedes Forenmitglied ein Thema posten kann. Alle Forenmitglieder können sich zu diesem Thema äussern. Alle zusammengehörigen Diskussionsbeiträge zu einem Thema stehen chronologisch untereinander. Dadurch lassen sich gut Diskurse zu komplexeren Themen von allen auch über einen langen Zeitraum verfolgen und vertiefen. Alle Forenteilnehmer sehen i.d.R. alle Beiträge. Der Diskussionsverlauf ist ständig allen präsent. Foren sind starr hierachisch organisiert: Kategorie, Thema, Diskussionsbeitrag. Foren werden von Dritten angeboten und betrieben. Nutzer sind Teilnehmer. 
3. Wikis sind ein Mittel, um "gemeinschaftlich" (gesichertes) Wissen auf einzelnen Webseiten zu aggregieren und der Öffentlichkeit einfach zugänglich zu machen. Eine sehr produktive und effiziente Methode, geordnet aber selbstorganisiert durch die Autoren, Wissen mit anderen zu teilen. Hier geht es nicht um das Gespräch oder die Diskussion in erster Linie, sondern um die systematische Darstellung von Knowhow. Die Diskussion um die möglicherweise strittigen Inhalte findet hier auf speziellen Seiten statt oder mit Hilfe der anderen Kommunikationsformen. Ein Wiki dient in erster Linie der Dokumentation.
4. Blogs sind momentan die reichhaltigste Form im Web für ein "individuelle" Person sich im Web sehr persönlich auszudrücken. Jedes Blog gehört dem Inhaber des Blogs und steht in seiner alleinigen Verantwortung. Gemeinschaftliche Blogs können natürlich auch vorkommen. Ein Blog erlaubt seinem Inhaber jede Freiheit. Es ist im Prinzip die Heimat eines Netizen. Durch die Kommentare der anderen zu den Blogbeiträgen entstehen Diskussionen. Durch Verlinkung und Backlinks zwischen Blogs und anderen Kommunikationsformen ensteht ein äusserst komplexer Raum. Blogs sind in meinen Augen die Schwergewichte, wichtigsten Fixpunkte und Ankerpunkte in der Sphäre. Das Geflecht der Blogs ist das Rückgrat der Sphäre. Ohne sie würde wahrscheinlich die Sphäre zu einem flüchtigen Gebilde.
5. Microblogging ist ein "öffentlicher" Kommunikationsfluss von kurzen Statusmeldungen an alle Abonnenten einer individuellen Person. Beim Microblogging sehe und lese ich nur die Messages von den Leuten die ich abonniert habe. Von den anderen nicht. Durch die wechselseitigen Abos entsteht ein Kreis von "Freunden" der ständig in Kontakt und über den Status der anderen immer informiert ist. Die Messages sind dabei kurz und idealerweise prägnant. Beim Forum dagegen sehe ich alle Messages von allen zu allen Themen. Beim Microbloging ist der kontinuierliche persönliche Strom der Nachrichten rein zeitlich geordnet. Die thematische Ordnung kann beim Microblogging durch “#hashtags” hergestellt werden. Natürlich ergeben sich beim Microblogging auch chat-ähnliche Situationen. Diese sind aber öffentlich. Das Wort "Microblogging" täuscht etwas: Es ist in Wahrheit ein Messagingmedium, das aber eine rudimentäre blog-ähnliche Oberfläche hat. Die komplette Technologie für die Realisierung dadrunter ist reinrassige Messaging-Technologie. "Micromessaging" dazu zu sagen, wäre eigentlich angebrachter.

Das Ganze wird noch angereichert durch diverse sogenannte Social oder Business Netzwerke, den mehr oder weniger vernetzten elektronischen Visitenkarten, durch unzählige Foto-, Video- und Audi-Sites im Web, Social Bookmarkings sowie natürlich durch eine unüberschaubare Anzahl von klassischen Websites. Aber Motor und Triebkraft des Web sind für mich die obengenannten fünf Kommunikationsformen. Sie sind eigentlich das Web wie wir es heute empfinden, erleben, erfahren, gestalten und nutzen. Das Web erweitert unsere Fähigkeiten und die Reichweite zu kommunizieren. Über jeden Raum und jede Zeit. Das ist das gemeinsame aller dieser fünf Kommunikationsformen. Die richtige Mischung macht's für jeden einzelnen.

Und wir sind erst am Anfang.

Nachträglicher Linktipp: Christian Henner-Fehr hat ebenfalls eine ähnliche Fragestellung untersucht in Der Unterschied zwischen Foren, Blogs und Social Networks. Mit der Bitte um die geschätzte Aufmerksamkeit. [Witzigerweise hat er das gleiche Wordpress-Theme wie ich seit zwei Tagen...]

Update: Sean Carmody, Sydney, Australia, has translated and adapted my humble thoughts into English and posted them on his blog StubbornMule. Thank you for translating and mentioning, Sean! It's an honour :-)

In such a set-up, employees are the store-house of ideas. And hence the need to create a common platform arises. And this platform is provided by enterprise wikis. Such an enterprise collaboration platform will not only bring together the company’s knowledgebase, but will also encourage employees to participate in and contribute to the decision making processes. When the involvement of employees is encouraged, their performance improves, thereby making the business prosper.

Although an enterprise wiki is primarily designed for knowledge management, it also serves as the best means to share information and communicate ideas. If you’re unsure of which enterprise wiki to choose, bear in mind that a certified wiki, which is tested and reliable, yet allows customization, would be the most suitable. So remember, an enterprise wiki is the organization’s key to unlock the door to success!

Chad talked about using a wiki for extranets that clients can subscribe to, and also to track internal projects.  He disclosed that because people at White & Case get nervous when they hear the word, the tools he develops are never titled "wikis" even though that's what they are.  One interesting tool Chad pointed out was wikimatrix.org, which allows you to compare and contrast dozens of wiki products to find one that meets your specific needs.

Peter made a good point that self-moderation is the key to a successful wiki.  Minter Ellison uses the wiki capabilities of SharePoint, and in the next phase will try to incorporate wikis as part of their knowledge management program as a whole.  Peter also tried to answer an attendee question about showing the value of wikis when it's hard enough to get lawyers to use their existing intranets and document management systems.  His answer citing the key differentiator of user empowerment via editing capabilities was echoed by Chad.

~ Amy Witt

Door het ontbreken van de index verliep het aanbrengen van mijn wiki (over mijn favoriete bezigheden) niet helemaal naar wens. Het tekstje dat ik als favoriete bezigheid had willen aanbrengen, is nu terecht gekomen als commentaar bij de pagina favoriete bezigheden...

Maar ja, daar kun je het natuurlijk ook lezen.
3R...

Eigenlijk, dacht ik gisteravond, zouden we echt wel zelf dingen kunnen doen, om het meer levend en direct toepasbaar op de dagelijkse praktijk te maken. Ik kreeg een mailtje over een nieuwe map op de w-schijf, waarin we voortaan issues gaan proppen die iedereen kan lezen.

Dat zou toch eigenlijk een fantastisch model voor een wiki met een blogspot en RSS zijn, of vergis ik me nou? Dan zouden we in ieder geval wel een sprong in het experiment voor kennismanagement kunnen maken.  Of wordt het dan te openbaar, die bibliotheek?

Doug kicked of the presentation by introducing the PBwiki.com wiki called ILTA Wikis in Law Firms (PBwiki donated the commercial version of their Wiki as a demonstration of the technology to ILTA law firms.  See Doug discuss the wiki and this program below.  

You shouldn't need a password or invite key to view or edit if you want to try it out.  (I found this interesting as Nina Platt Consulting uses PBwiki for our intranet.  With 4 of us on staff, we are able to use the commercial version for $99.00/year.  An inexpensive alternative to support our needs.)

Following the view of the PBwiki site, Doug went on to review Wikipedia including how to use the revision, history, edit, discussion and RSS features.

Morrison Foerster

Ayelette Robinson was up next.  Morrison Foerster has just begun to delve into the use of wikis.  To date a small number of admin departments are using wikis for substantive projects and workflow processes.  The practice groups have started to ask to use Sharepoint wikis but they are still exploring it (including a review of the SharePoint wiki shortcomings).

Davis Polk

Michael Mills described his firms use of the enterprise wiki software named Confluence developed and sold by Atlassian.  They experimented for six months, did a proof of concept for multiple products and selected Confluence.    Michael discussed what he sees as a fascination for a technology that is not new as a wiki is really just another website which is easier to edit than others. 

Confluence calls each wiki site a space.  Individual users have access to spaces based on security that allows them to be users of the site.  They have the ability to see their spaces, favorite pages of the spaces, recently updated spaces/pages, as well as all spaces where security sees them as users.  Michael likened the system to a simplified version of SharePoint team sites. 

Davis Polk uses wikis to track knowledge about a legal issue as well as collaboration on a specific project/matter. Each practice group is different in their level of buy-in and/or use of the wikis.  Examples of groups/departments that make good use of the wikis include the Tax group who use it for project management and collaboration and the Computer Support & Training department who use it for internal documentation. 

They have integrated Confluence pages into SharePoint where matter pages each have a link to a shell wiki they can populate if they want to use it.  Other features of Confluence include a search engine that is tailored specifically for wikis, the ability to generate an RSS feed from any page, and more.  Michael recommended that Litigation Support teams really need to be using wikis to track decisions made and actions taken to support a matter instead of the information being stored in the Litigation Support team members individual email in-boxes. 

Goodwin Proctor

Doug briefly talked about the use of wikis at his firm where they use the SharePoint wiki technology for the following:

• Wikipedia for legal topics
• Client & matter management
• Project management

While Doug was presenting and audience member asked "How do you prevent people from putting content in yet another repository that could likely create problems with adhering to the records retention policies in place in the firms?"  As an avid fan of wikis, I found this to be a sobering question.  The next question from the group was one I immediately thought of as well, "If wikis are used for content regarding a matter and the firm were to determine how to deal with the records retention policy issue, isn't there still a risk management issue?"  Some thoughts to consider as you move forward with this technology.  

Finally, an audience member asked about what shortfalls SharePoint wikis present.  Doug responded to this question with the following comments:

The notification of page changes one is sent if someone signs up to receive those updates, is a simple reprint of the web page with no hint of what the changes are.

Multiple people can enter the wiki at the same time to edit with the first editor to save preventing changes by the others editors.

~ Nina Platt

I've also found myself using and putting into practice some of the concepts from a future lesson (Week 7) -- wikis.  I successfully constructed a wiki at work to assist with some committee work a few months ago (the whole concept was met with a bit of resistance, at first -- I'm still waiting for it to truly "take off" -- I remain hopeful), and am currently working on creating/designing yet another wiki space -- all of these new technologies do seem to get easier the more you have to utilize them (at least this is what I'm discovering).  The most difficult aspect is finding the time to apply these skills . . . it takes quite a bit of discipline to maintain a "learning" schedule, but if you are successful, it WILL pay dividends.

Now, on the lighter side . . . lest I get a "big head" over what I've been able to accomplish thus far, some words about "ACHIEVEMENT."  I don't quite have the "endless supply of expendable labor" (yet), but hope springeth eternal.