Blogs vs. Wikis

When I think about blogs and wikis, I think about the 5C’s, but blogs and wikis achieve these characteristics in different ways. Blogs are generally run by a single author communicating his/her thoughts with readers. Wikis have multiple authors and are intended to be a group effort to collaborate and share information. Although these two forms of new media have different purposes, they both use the 5C’s in order to create an interactive space for users and readers alike.

An interesting example of blogs using collaboration was in the article “Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid.” The Bay Ridge community took it upon themselves to speak out about the crimes occurring in their neighborhood by blogging. Many residents used this an opportunity to inform their fellow residents of potential dangers. One resident was grateful for the blogs, “You check and see what’s going on in the neighborhood…there’s strength in numbers, you know? There’s more of us than them.”  Despite the fact that it was likely by chance that the authorities discovered this blog and took action, it wouldn’t have been possible without the united effort to take action by the community.  

For wikis, because they focus on information collaboration, they can be used in a variety of ways. One possibility discussed in “How to use Wikis for Business,” was using wikis in business to create a more organized and interactive organizational culture. Employees would be able to collaborate on spreadsheets and word documents efficiently and as a community. Wikis solve many of the issues that companies have with information sharing by providing an interactive platform for community and creativity across the entire company.