Wiki The Ultimate Tool for Online Collaboration Meredith Farkas September 25, 2006 ALA Headquarters

What you will learn  What a wiki is  What wikis are good for, what they’re not so good for  How libraries, organizations and conference organizers are successfully using wikis  Tips on developing a successful wiki

What is a wiki?  Content management system  Allows people to collaboratively develop a Web site without any tech-savvy  Wiki = quick (in Hawaiian)  All community members can add to or edit the work of others

Wiki background  Ward Cunningham and the Portland Pattern Repository  Wikipedia  Conference wikis, fan wikis, wiki knowledgebases  Organizations jump on the wiki bandwagon

Wiki Structure  All wikis start off as a single blank page  Pages are created and connected by hyperlinks  No ownership of pages; anyone can change the work of others

Wiki Components  Pages community members can add to or edit (example)example  Discussion area for each page  List of all of the changes made to a particular page (version control)  List of all changes made to all pages.

Wiki Syntax  Ways to format text, change color, create links, create tables, etc.  Wikipedia editor’s guide Wikipedia editor’s guide  Not difficult to learn, but different  Differences for each wiki  WYSIWYG is the future

Wikis vs. Blogs  No one owns content  No specific organization (hyperlinks)  Anyone can edit other people’s work  A person owns their post  Organized in reverse chron. order  Only author can edit their own work (others can comment)

Wikis vs. Blogs  Perpetual work in progress  Good for collaborative group work  Posts are permanent  Good for disseminating info/starting a dialogue

Why wiki?  Easy to use  Web-based  Anyone can make changes  Findability (with database wikis)  Many free and open-source wikis  Flexible and extensible

Why not wiki?  Too open (trust issues)  Concerns about ownership of content  Disorganized  Vandalism and spam

Wikis in Practice

Knowledge management (KM)  All organizations want to make the best use of organizational knowledge  Most are really bad at it  Wiki is a great KM tool

Wiki as Intranet for info sharing  Most are behind the firewall or are password protected  SUNY Stonybrook Health Science Library Wiki SUNY Stonybrook Health Science Library Wiki  University of Connecticut Library University of Connecticut Library  Norwich University Library Public Services Wiki Norwich University Library Public Services Wiki

Wiki as professional knowledgebase  Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki  Library Instruction Wiki Library Instruction Wiki  Qwiki: Quantum Physics Wiki Qwiki: Quantum Physics Wiki  The New PR Wiki The New PR Wiki

Wikis for conference planning behind the scenes  HigherEd BlogCon HigherEd BlogCon  Five Weeks to a Social Library Five Weeks to a Social Library  BarCamp BarCamp  PodCon PodCon

For ALA  Wiki intranet for ALA (knowledgebase)  Wiki for planning specific events, conferences, etc.  Wikis for specific groups (Web design team, Distance Learning section of ACRL, American Libraries staff, etc.)

Wiki = quick  No editing in Dreamweaver, no FTP-ing into the server.  No waiting for the Webmaster to update your page.  Different people can be responsible for different content areas

Wiki as Web site  Antioch University New England Library Staff Training and Support Wiki Antioch University New England Library Staff Training and Support Wiki  University of South Carolina Aiken Library Web site University of South Carolina Aiken Library Web site  Bull Run Library Bull Run Library  St. Joseph County Public Library Subject Guides St. Joseph County Public Library Subject Guides

For ALA  Wiki Web site for certain divisions that don’t have enough Web design support  Wiki for pages that are updated frequently and get out-of-date quickly Example: PLA TechNotesPLA TechNotes

When you want to hear from your users…  Wikis are a great way to get patrons/clients to participate in building your Web space Resource guides Feedback spaces Book reviews Area guides  You can learn a lot from your members or clients, and they will feel like you care about what they think

Resource guides and book reviews  ProductWiki ProductWiki  Ohio University Library’s Biz WikiBiz Wiki  wikiXbox360 wikiXbox360  Princeton Public Library’s Book Lovers WikiBook Lovers Wiki  Wyoming Authors Wiki Wyoming Authors Wiki

Area guides  RocWiki (Rochester, NY) RocWiki  Davis Wiki (Davis, CA) Davis Wiki  Arbor Wiki (Ann Arbor, MI) Arbor Wiki  PGHWiki (Pittsburgh, PA) PGHWiki

For ALA  A Booklist book review wiki  A RUSA Great Reference Resources wiki  A LITA wiki that collects reviews of Integrated Library Systems, Link Resolvers, Federated Search software, etc.  Resource guides in any subject area  Area guides for conferences

Wikis that build community  ICANN Wiki ICANN Wiki  Tax Almanac Tax Almanac  Mandriva Club Mandriva Club  Why not an ALA Wiki? With areas for each ALA event where people can share info. Also could include resource guides, info about ALA governance for members, etc.

Conference Wikis  Library Conference Wikis ALA 2005 Chicago Wiki ALA 2006 New Orleans Wiki CIL 2006 Wiki IL 2006 Wiki ASIS&T 2005 Wiki MLA 2005 Wiki

Conference Wiki Successes  ALA Chicago 2005 Wiki ALA Chicago 2005 Wiki  Wikimania 2006 Wikimania 2006  What can we learn from them? Grassroots feel makes for a better-used wiki Need dedicated wiki managers, but also need dedicated wiki contributors

Conference wiki elements  Conference information Listing of all programs  Example: WikimaniaWikimania  Example: KM World and Intranets ‘05KM World and Intranets ‘05 Tips Calendar of events (official and informal)  Example: eBay DevConeBay DevCon  Information about local area

Conference wiki elements (cont’d)  Social elements Profiles  Example: Agile 2006, IL2006Agile 2006IL2006 Opportunity to ask questions of speakers on wiki Attendee Blogs (off or on-site?) Conference tag (ALA07 or ALA2007) Forums Chat (on wiki or IRC)

Conference wiki elements (cont’d)  For during the conference Announcements area Speakers post their notes/slides Attendees and speakers can continue discussions on the wiki Attendees post reports or link to external blog posts  Example: Yale A2K ConferenceYale A2K Conference  Example: Agile 2006Agile 2006

Conference wiki elements (cont’d)  Post conference Get feedback from attendees about conference Get feedback from attendees about wiki Continued dialogue among attendees

Wiki Tips How to develop and maintain a successful wiki

Wiki Tips: Software  Popular options for wiki hosted on your server MediaWiki PmWiki Twiki SocialText XWiki Confluence ($$$) Confluence

Wiki Tips: Software (cont’d)  Popular Options for wikis hosted by the software company PBWiki WetPaint SeedWiki  If you want control, no ads, etc., host the wiki on your server.  If you don’t have server space, need the wiki for a small time-limited project, or are scared of maintaining a new tech, go with a hosted wiki.  Check out the WikiMatrix when thinking about which software to useWikiMatrix

Customizing MediaWiki  Extensions Extensions Calendar WYSIWYG Functionality (for those running PHP5 or higher) – WYSIWYG will soon be in the MediaWiki release!!! WYSIWYG Functionality User blogs Permissioning Forums (from TaxAlmanac) Forums and many more!

Customizing MediaWiki  Skins Skins  Security Bad Behavior Plugin authentication before editing (if you require people to register)

Wiki Tips: Seeding  No one wants to add to an empty wiki  Also, people often don’t know what to add  Add some content to the major categories before going live  Creating an organizational scheme will prevent orphan links and chaos

Wiki Tips: Documentation  Wikis need lots of info for novice users What is a wiki What can you do with this wiki How to edit the wiki FAQ Whom to contact for more help  Prepare for lots of questions!  Wikipedia has lots of good documentation for MediaWiki users

Wiki Tips: Content development  Do lots of marketing Blogs lists and forums Publications (write an article on wikis!)  Partner with groups related to your mission  Give the wiki a grassroots feel, make it welcoming.

Wiki Tips: Management  Security Should you require registration?  Dealing with spam Install spam-killing plugins or blacklists Monitor the wiki several times a day  Dealing with trolls/flamers Deleting things that are inappropriate vs. deleting things that you don’t like  Find lots of dedicated helpers!!!

Questions? Comments? Meredith Farkas mgfarkas at gmail dot com AIM: librarianmer