Wikis, Briefly Considered Texas Library Association / District 5 Mark Gilman

1. Wikis, Briefly Considered Texas Library Association / District 5 Mark Gilman Dallas Public LibrarySept 23, 2006

2. Scope of this presentation • What is a wiki? • What are they good for? • Why do I want one? • Where are some good examples? • How do I get one? • Wikis & Library 2.0

3. Wikis Defined • In Hawaiian, “Wiki” means “quick”; • Wikis are a collaborative environment for creating web-based content; • They use a simple editing syntax rather than HTML; • Editing can be done from any web browser and updates appear instantly; • Creating new pages and adding links is intuitively simple.

4. Origins • Invented in 1995 by Ward Cunningham father of the software called WikiWikiWeb which was created to host the Portland Pattern Repository, a place meant to store computer programming design patterns. • There have been a proliferation of imitators. The best known is “MediaWiki”, on which resides the Wikipedia.

5. Uses of Wikis Use a wiki anywhere you think it helps to have easily editable, web-based content, including: • Subject guides / portals • Pathfinders • Project wiki • Document repository • Calendar • Staff Intranet

6. Some definitions • Wikifarm: “A server or collection of servers that provide wiki hosting.” (Wikipedia) • CamelCase: A syntax that, in most wikis, automatically resolves into a page link as soon as it is saved; • Sandbox: wiki pages where new users can get comfortable with wiki syntax or experienced users can figure out how to do new things.

7. Why do I want one? • Great for keeping content up-to-date: no more link-rot! • You don’t have to wait until the entire project is complete before “publishing”; • “Stubs” are part of wiki culture; your site can evolve incrementally; • Leverage networks and teams: multiple editors / authors; • Fosters many-to-many communication.

8. Requirements • Most open-source wikis require a LAMP stack: • Linux (operating system – server side) • Apache (http server) • MySQL (database) • PHP / PERL / Python (scripting languages) Notable exceptions include DokuWiki and Twiki, lightweight wikis do not require a database like MySQL. • Basic wiki functions can be extended through the use of plug-ins. (Configuration usually required.)

9. Features Choose your wiki based on features like: • Ability to set editing policies for individuals or groups; • Availability of plug-ins: calendars, discussion forums, etc. • Ability to upload file attachments; • WYSIWIG editing.

10. Comparing features • Wikimatrix.orghttp://www.wikimatrix.org • Wikipedia comparisons • Comparison of wiki farms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_wiki_farms • Comparison of wiki software http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_wiki_software

11. Examples • Library Success: A best-practices wikihttp://www.libsuccess.org • ALA New Orleans 2006 http://meredith.wolfwater.com/ala2006/ • Teacher Librarian Wikihttp://teacherlibrarianwiki.pbwiki.com/ • Ohio Universities Library Biz Wikihttp://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki/

12. Dallas Public Library Project Wiki • We have recently set-up a wiki to help coordinate the work of a project team http://tinyurl.com/gxeru

13. How do I get one? Your choices include: • A free commercial “wikifarm” like: • PB Wiki • Jotspot • A commercial web host • Lunarpages • Bluehost • Powweb • Serversea • Host a wiki on your own server

14. Hosting options contrasted Things to consider: • Commercial “wikifarms” include ads running down one panel and offer limited configuration, so yours may look generic; • Wikis that you install provide a lot more control over “skins”, configuration options, etc. You can make it look just like the rest of your library’s website.

15. Open or closed? • With over 2-million articles the Wikipedia is subject to vandalism. Thus, Mediawiki (and someother wiki software) provides for: • locking pages down; • rolling pages back to earlier versions; • use of discussion pages where perspectives are hashed out; • blocking of users who don’t have a track record. • You will want to decide who will have the permission set to create or edit pages. It can be just you, a list of persons, or the whole world.

16. Conclusions • The threshold to participate is low. Solutions like PBWiki require neither money nor technical knowledge. • Wikis provide the “readable/writable” web envisaged years ago by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. • Use a wiki to organize your life, to build pathfinders, to advertise events. Or dream up new uses. • Wikis take something that used to be harder and have made it very easy.

17. Wikis & Library 2.0 • Web 2.0 means a writable, dynamic web, where the communication goes in both directions. It is social and collaborative. • Wikis, blogs, MySpace, Flickr, Del.icio.us, digg, Zoho Office, You Tube, all typify Web 2.0 • Library 2.0 is a perspective that seeks to leverage these tools and concepts in ways that open new possibilities. There is a huge literature on this.

18. Resources • Wikipedia entry: “Wikis”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikis • PB Wiki Tutorialhttp://trainingwiki.pbwiki.com/f/CreatingYourFirstWiki.pdf • Don’t forget about books! There’s even a “Wikis for Dummies” due out next year.http://tinyurl.com/fql3m

19. Wikis, Briefly Considered www.infinitevistas.org/tla/