Blog vs. Wiki

Blogs and Wikis are similar in the sense that they encourage collectivism and help share ideas but they are two entirely different platforms. Blogs can be looked at as an online journal with commentary that typically includes stories, opinions, photos, and links to articles and other websites. Blogs have a single author—meaning no one else can make edits to what was posted but they can comment and express their own ideas and opinions on that post. Blogs help spread ideas and opinions and can even help stop crime! In the article Brooklyn Blog Leads to Drug Raid by Michael Wilson, residents of this Brooklyn neighborhood all contributed to a blog with different stories about what was going on in their neighborhood. Eventually, their blogging turned to action and their stories helped stop the drug problem in their neighborhood. After the police raided the two homes in suspect, many of the residents began to post celebratory posts on the blog. The blog helped keep up with the stories of the residents in real time. This shows how blogs can be used collaboratively.

            Wikis, on the other hand, is a website created collaboratively with many contributors and authors. A wiki develops when people add and edit information in real time. A wiki is more about sharing knowledge whereas a blog is more about sharing opinions. One of the biggest wikis we are all familiar with is Wikipedia. In the article Wikipedia to Limit Changes to Articles on People by Noam Cohen, it emphasizes that Wikipedia has now categorized contributors into two groups: experienced, trusted editors and everyone else. Many people can no longer edit or contribute to pages such as Britney Spears and Barack Obamas. I find it logical that they should monitor who contributes to these pages because it is one of the top 10 most visited sites on the Web and a lot of people rely on it for information. Therefore, it can’t afford to product false information.

            In todays world, convergence is incredibly important especially with all of the new and developing technologies. That is why many big companies are beginning to acquire other companies to explore new technological developments.