Writing & Computers: The "wiki" in Wikipedia

I am shifting gears for the next couple of months to talk about what's happening in Professor Jennings' Writing & Computers class. We have been talking more about blogs as well as "wikis." Both blogs and wikis are user-generated content (one or more people write or create/post photos, videos, sound, or graphics to a page). Wikis are also known as open-source content (anyone who can access or use the page can write or edit content on the page). You may ask, what is a "wiki"? Well, if you have ever heard of Wikipedia, half of that word may make the meaning of "wiki" a little more obvious to you. A wiki is a Web page (or a collection of Web pages) with content that allows anyone who accesses it to contribute their content or edit others content. A great example of a widely used wiki is known as Wikipedia. Many professors and other professionals do not like Wikipedia because of its ability to be edited by anyone. Someone could come onto the page and post false information about something, where in the past content had to be checked for facts and reviewed by peers to appear on a page). However, a few professors I have had say that with Wikipedia (and other wikis), you are getting the best, most unbiased information possible. I believe that with Wikipedia, nearly anyone can edit content without an account, while with other wikis, one has to have a user account. I do agree that Wikipedia can be a source of knowledge about certain topics; however, you do have to check your facts by looking at other Web sites, message boards/forums, and media forms (biased or not) to make sure the information is accurate and professionally checked.

Professor Jennings also gives us plenty of practice with writing and research, as she has given us a Web research and analysis project that is due this Wednesday. Sometimes she gives us a topic and has us write about it for the last few minutes (or half of) the class. This is great practice for anyone going into any communications profession as well as any profession where writing and timeliness are required.

One final note I have to add: my short film, "The Java Addict's Tragedy," got some attention by local blog Web sites Sparkle City Blogs and Spartanburg Spark. You can read more about it at these links:

The Sparkle City Blogs coverage:

http://www.sparklecityblogs.com/

The Spartanburg Spark coverage:

http://www.spartanburgspark.com/2008/09/video-o-rama-java-addicts-tragedy-pot-bubbles-hells-gate-and-bustin-parking-lot-moves/