Wikis Are Now Serious Business

Marshall Kirkpatrick
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/wiki_business.php

The first rule when locating internet sources for a research paper- Wikipedia cannot be used because it is not a credible source. I couldn't tell you how many times I have been unable to cite Wikipedia and ended up finding very useful information from it. Though sometimes the information may not have been correct, Wikipedia has some valuable information about almost anything you can think of.

Wikipedia was the first wiki to become widely recognized and used, despite its academic accreditation. Since its introduction, there are now millions of wikis used each day for tons of purposes. Kirkpatrick's article gives ten examples of how wikis are used for serious business these days and are no longer receiving such a bad reputation.

Many sites like Wetpaint and Wikimatrix have become extremely successful and profitable from the world of wikis. I was first introduced to Wetpaint wikis in this class as it is used as a simple way to publish a webpage. Wetpaint can be used by anyone who wants to create a webpage quickly and easily.

Organizations are also using wikis to coordinate events, discuss public policy, and revive archived information. It is easy to recognize how serious wikis have become when so many companies and organizations have used them. Even Barack Obama's campaign used wikis to help organize volunteers.

Other well known organizations have begun using wikis as well. KatrinaHelp.info helped promote disaster relief using wikis and was said to have been more useful than FEMA.

There are still many who have doubts about wikis. Sure, there are sites that may not be one hundred percent credible, but most of them still have relevant and important content. Wikis, like every other Web 2.0 techonology, will continue to grow and succeed and those who once laughed at them will finally put on their serious faces.