From our class discussion and the Brogan readings, I have been learning a lot more about the many uses of both blogs and wikis. Before taking a class on social media I did not pay much mind as to what a wiki really was, or how blogs could be used from something other than an online diary. In Brogans book he talks about blogs and wikis being uses in business as a way to create, using wikis, friendly collaboration while having a central resource of information pertaining to the company, and helps generate ideas and team spirit. Blogs can also be a helpful source for individual contributions that can help to generate new ideas.
As I learn more about wikis I am still deciding if I think they are something of use or not. I think that in terms of collaboration wikis serve a great purpose in a business sense because it can allow people from within the same company to share information and learn more about a company. This I understand, what I am skeptical about is wikis being used for fan sites or random information gathering. Not to say that wikis aren't a cool collaborative way for fans to team up and share their knowledge, but there is some skepticism in the fact that no every wiki is proof read or checked regularly. What I mean is that I do not see wikis as totally reliable sources when it comes to information gathering, but they are a useful tool when it comes to having a collaborative home base for a specific group of people.
Not ever visiting (knowingly) any wikis other than wikipedia, I choose to check out the mad men wiki since I have just recently watched the series on Netflix. When first arriving at the site I immediately saw its resemblance to the Mad Men page on AMC's website. They had trending topics posted about the new season, along with video clips and featured images of the cast. This is what I mean about not really trusting the wiki sites completely. It seems to take on a credible face, modeling itself off of the main Mad Men site that is produced by professionals and put out by the network, but I am not sure it deserves the same credit. Some cool things the wiki did have were pools on the sides of the site where you could vote on how you predict the new season will fair. Either way the wiki proved to be a useful site for gathering pictures of the cast and the show as well as links to other sites that discuss the series.
Here is a look at the wikia site and then the official Mad Men page on AMC's web site
wikia...
AMC....
you decide....
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