Part 4: Content Sharing - So hot right now

download Pdf

Howard G. "Ward" Cunningham, pioneer of the wiki, began programming the WikiWikiWeb software in 1994 and installed it on the website of his software consultancy in 1995. Back then he described a wiki as “The simplest online database that could possibly work.” 12 years later this is probably still the most accurate description.

Wikis operate mostly in the background of Social Media, they are web pages anyone can edit, in the hopes of improving them, and they are used by corporations to form collaborate product design teams.

Essentially a wiki is a piece of software which users can create and edit online, using simple markup language via a web browser. They support hyperlinks and have a simple text syntax for creating new pages and links between internal pages.

In its most basic form, a wiki is a web site that supports user collaboration through a variety of functions.

There are numerous types of wiki software available that share the following nifty characteristics:

Create and update documents – Wiki users have the ability to easily create and update documents.
Review versions – Most Wikis store each version of a document. This functionality makes it easy for users to view the various modifications that a document has undergone over time.
Community-oriented tools – Most Wikis provide users with an ability to engage in some form of discussion about the documents they are collaborating on.

Certain wikis are open to communities – like the 27 dinner wiki or to industries like the PR wiki. Wikis are exceptionally useful in organisations. At Quirk, for example, we have several very different sets of teams each with their own functions, skill sets and interests. As no one can ever really be expected to know everything – we created wikis for each department. So any new piece of information, theory or process can be documented and read by anyone in the company. The internal wiki has facilitated knowledge sharing like never before.

The Most Famous Wiki Of All: Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a web-based, free content encyclopedia that is rated one of the top ten visited sites in the world. Originally created in 2001 by James Wales and Larry Sanger, this online encyclopedia has received both praise and criticism.
Roughly 15 times the size of Encyclopedia Britannica, with more than 8.2 million articles in 253 languages, this encyclopedia is increasing in size at an exponential level (see graph below).However, with the increased adoption of this tool, criticism has also increased as to the validity of the definitions.

Figure 1: Growth of articles in accordance with the growth of users in the English Wikipedia

Maintaining the Integrity of Articles on Wikipedia

All definitions seen on Wikipedia are written by a collaborative team of volunteers from around the world. Anyone can submit a definition and these can then be edited by anyone who has access to the Internet. This combination of contributors leads to a democratic way of including the most up to date information. Since definitions are reviewed frequently, it should decrease the amount of bias and inaccuracy, while building a unique social network with people of similar interests contributing.

All Wikipedia definitions also have both internal and external references allowing individuals the ability to view other sources and make their own decisions on the information available. Many of the articles also link to encyclopedia articles.

It is important to note that, although anyone can contribute, there is a permission ranking system which has been instituted to maintain the level of credibility that is associated with Wikipedia. Further measures include a discussion tab on most articles where academics can question the validity of the sources and its content.

In 2005, a study was conducted on a variety of articles from both Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica. The aim was to check the accuracy of both sources. The results yielded very similar results, with both having very similar error rates. Although Wikipedia’s error rates were slightly higher, one has to look at both sides of the coin. Being an online based encyclopedia, errors are very easy to change. Encyclopedia Britannica only reprints every 7 years, and thus these error’s are in a sense set in stone for that period of time.

Implications to Marketers

As a research tool, Wikipedia offers great insight to marketers. When people search Google for a topic, frequently a Wikipedia definition is in the top ten search results. So if you can get your company on Wikipedia then more power to you (one more result in the SERP’s). There is so much information on the net it is often difficult for users to know where to start. Wikipedia can be used as a platform of understanding and then can build on sources from a variety of places on the Internet.

Another reason why Wikipedia is an excellent tool to use is that it offers very up to date information. Encyclopaedias such as Encyclopedia Britannica are thought to be more accurate due to their long standing reputation and the domain experts who write and review all definitions. Wikipedia on the other hand aims rather to get a collective definition from a variety of sources that the layman can understand. This again plays on the credibility issue which continually comes into question. However, as previously mentioned to edit a definition is a fairly easy task especially in comparison to printed versions, and Wikipedia does take extensive steps to minimise these errors or omissions.

A further positive for Wikipedia is the wide variety of topics it covers. It has been said that “knowledge is power” - with access to so much information marketers have so much more information at their finger tips. The external links offered also opens more portals to information which users can utilise as they see fit.

download Pdf

Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Next