Blogs v. Wikis

Blogs and wikis are two forms of new media widely used in today’s society. Both blogs and wikis play an important role in the convergence of technology. Today we have become a quick, easy, and instant society, so convergence media such a blogs and wikis allow us to communicate and share information easily and quickly. 

Before this class, I basically considered wikis to be the new media version of an encyclopedia, and a blog to be the new media version of a person’s diary or journal.  However, I have come to realize that blogs and wikis go much deeper than that. Blogs and wikis serve as a platform for writing and sharing information online. The purpose of wikis is to usually collect factual information, while blogs are more opinion-based. Blogs and wikis can function for both personal and business purposes. According to Margaret Locher, “Diverse organizations, including businesses, schools and government agencies, are waking up to the benefits of wikis… [because it is] easier to gather and share information as well as record discussions about a subject.”

Though similar, they have some significant differences including their content, format, and purpose. In terms of format, each wiki page has its own theme, whereas a blog has many different posts with their individual themes. Unlike blogs, wikis are meant to be worked on by more than one person. With a wiki, contributors can continuously add and edit the information of others. With a blog, there is only one person or group that is able to create posts. Although people may have the opportunity to comment, the focus is still on the creator’s post and everyone else’s idea is seen as follow-up. Because of its comment style, blogs are better for conversation and not ideal for collaboration like wikis are. However there are specific blogs, called collaborative blogs, where a specific group of people all share a username/password and can post/edit on the same blog. An example of a collaborative blog, is Dailykos, which is a political blog that allows users to post on the site.

Wikis have become so popular, it is difficult to think of a new use for it. As the need for information grows, I am sure wikis will have significant impact on information and its accessibility.

Sources:

Wiki While You Work; The technology popularized by Wikipedia can help companies gather and manage their own collective knowledge. Here's how to get started by Margaret Locher. CIO, May 1, 2008. Vol. 21, Iss. 14. Available at:
http://www.cio.com/article/336818/More_on_How_to_Build_Your_Own_Wikipedia

Wikipedia on Collaborative Blog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_blog

Describe New Media

New media is all around us! New media technologies include eBooks, social networking, blogs, etc. However, in order to have new media, there must have been old media, but how do we distinguish the two? Old media include newspapers, television, radio, and similar forms of media. I consider new media to be old media, but with a "twist." New media is essentially older media that is more easily accessible or my widely distributed. The table below featured in  Linda Weiser Friedman and Hershey H. Friedman's "The New Media Technologies: Overview and Research Framework," portrays this idea more clearly. It shows the correlation of a specific "old" media to that of a "new" one.

TABLE II – THE OLD VS. THE NEW

Books →	Ebooks, wikis
Journalism →	blogs
Music →	pandora
Newspapers, Magazines →	ezines
Radio →	podcasts
Television →	Full episodes on the web
Telephone →	VOIP
Film →	Amateur videos on the web
Photography →	Flickr, Picasa
Art →	Museums on the web

Also described in The New Media Technologies: Overview and Research Framework," new media is characterized by the 5C's; communication, collaboration, community, creativity, and convergence. New media is generally said to use at least 3 of the 5C's.

Source:
Friedman, Linda Weiser and Friedman, Hershey H.,The New Media Technologies: Overview and Research Framework(April 2008). pages 9-24. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1116771, pp. 9-15.

Proj: Social Networking or Anti-Social Networking?

As technology develops, there is always debate on its positive and/or negative effects on society. From sites such as Myspace to LinkedIn or Facebook to Twitter, social networking is often at the forefront of such debate. Through analysis, one can highlight the pros and cons, or positive and negative effects of social networking on society. Positive effects include easier cultural diffusion, quicker communication with distant friends and relatives, and easier facilitation for professional networking and marketing. Negative effects include privacy and identity theft issues, less face to face interaction, and higher cases of disorders such as ADHD.