Blogs vs. Wikis

Blogs and Wikis are all the rage on the internet. Though blogs and wikis seem to provide the same thing: information, they do it in unique ways. Blogs are similar to journals, where they place news or their views on events in their lives or around the world. It is considered an alternative to journalism. People are able to comment about their ideas towards the blogs right on the same page, which ensures a collaborative effort. Blogs are controlled by their creators where if unnecessary information is provided, the creator will get rid of it and knowingly have what the user had published. Blogs are not necessarily always helpful. In Stung by the Perfect Sting, a model was bashed by anonymous bloggers, which in turn can become real world bullying.

In wikis people provide information in a certain web space, where users are allowed to edit content constantly. This is ultimately team collaboration. Everyone has a chance to change wiki information unlike with a blog, but if unnecessary information is provided, many users do not know whom placed this information. Since wikis are friendlier to users, any information provided is open to the public for which in a blog, if the creator has a bias with the information, he/she can dispose of it. Wikis are especially helpful when dealing with team or group projects. As with blogs, wikis are not always helpful. In A Rorschach Cheat Sheet on Wikipedia, Wikipedia is hurting psychological studies that involve Rorschach test by posting the answers on the internet.

Ultimately these debates on wikis and blogs are important because they bring together individuals who have a common goal in finding the answer to the world's questions.

Sources:

"A Rorschach Cheat Sheet on Wikipedia?" by Noam Cohen, The New York Times, July 28, 2009. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/technology/internet/29inkblot.html?ref=business

"Stung by the Perfect Sting," By Maureen Dowd, The NY Times, Aug 25, 2009. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/opinion/26dowd.html

http://baruchnewmedia.com/notes/n_blogs.htm

http://baruchnewmedia.com/notes/n_wikis.htm