LIS 9763

I’m in total agreement about how quickly this semester has flown by – shocking! Hard to believe this is my final blog post…but here we go with answers to the lucky 7 questions:
 
1.      Has your view of social software changed since starting this course? If so, how?
 

1. Has your view of social software changed since starting this course? If so, how?

When built around a responsible and committed group of people with a shared purpose, wikis can provide a well-structured, easy-to-use, effective and efficient means of organizing and providing access to prolific amounts of information to a wide array of people.

(As a librarian, puns aren't a hobby.  They're a responsibility.)
 

I really enjoyed the case studies from this week as I felt they encompassed what is both right and wrong with wikis. On the right side of things, I was quite taken by the Princeton Public Library book lovers’ wiki. I found it easy to navigate and especially liked how the library divided reviews by genre. Consistent overall structure is definitely key to wiki success. While not the most advanced wiki out there, this one captivated my attention.

Wikis are, by definition, great tools for collaboration.  I just read an article called Old is Gold: Integrating older workers in CSCW. (see bottom for citation) CSCW is “computer supported cooperative work”.  An example of a CSCW system is a wiki.  The article was actually about making these systems more usable for older workers.  What I found interesting, and relevant to this coure, is the reasons for why this is so important. 

Meredith Farkas brings up so excellent points in her article So You Want To Build a Wiki? Before deciding to use a wiki, we need to think of its purpose. For example, why are we posting a wiki on our library website? Is it meeting the need of what we are trying to get across? Could we use another technology that better serves our purpose?

Holy alliteration!!
 

All the readings emphasize a wiki's usefulness for sharing information and working collaboratively on a project.  When a small group of people with a common goal (think project) need to share information, a wiki is a great tool.  The common goal makes it necessary for everyone to contribute and also acts as the reason for consulting the wiki.