Archive for Wikis

Teamwork, But Less Technology

Teamwork, But Less Technology

Mid-tier firms don’t use collaboration tools as much as larger companies do. Is that wise?

Small and growing businesses are not technology laggards. Mid-tier companies are more likely than large companies to be early and midstream technology adopters, and they are increasing IT spending faster, according to past CIO Insight surveys.

Fascinating article which looks at the differences in IT use between large and small/medium firms. If you look at the chart there are differences across the board, but the largest differences appear to be in specific collaborative technologies. The article speculates why this might be the case, but it would be useful to dig a bit deeper into how the large companies are using these technologies. What are the demographics that are different? Are the companies more productive or less when they use these technologies. On chart is particularly interesting:

25 March, 2008 | No comments

Microsoft in hot water over Wikipedia edits

Microsoft in hot water over Wikipedia edits - CNN.com

While Wikipedia is known as the encyclopedia that anyone can tweak, founder Jimmy Wales and his cadre of volunteer editors, writers and moderators have blocked public-relations firms, campaign workers and anyone else perceived as having a conflict of interest from posting fluff or slanting entries. So paying for Wikipedia copy is considered a definite no-no.

Ok, here comes another article link I find this one intriguing because it involves MS and Wikipedia. In the past studies have show Wikipedia to be just slightly more “unaccurate” that the established Encyclopedia Brittanica. But this seemed marginal and one would wonder if it was statistically signifcant. Anyway, Wikipedia has become a beloved source of information and this is not the first time someone or something has tried to change its content. MS would have us believe that it was trying to get it right, but who’s right do they consider right? They have a way of seeing them through Redmond glasses and they think they know more than the rest of us (IMHO). One always has to wonder about the objectivity of a MS sponsored report/white paper/correct. Anyway, perhaps you will find this interesting as well.

24 January, 2007 | No comments

Wikis Are Alive and Kicking in the Enterprise

Wikis Are Alive and Kicking in the Enterprise

A wiki, which means “quick” in Hawaiian, is a Web site that enables users to easily edit and update shared content. Computer programmer Ward Cunningham originated the wiki concept and gave it its name more than a decade ago.After slow growth initially, wiki use has exploded in the past couple of years. Wiki technology, which has been popularized by the widely used Web encyclopedia Wikipedia, took a big leap in mind share when Google purchased wiki software maker JotSpot for an undisclosed amount on Oct. 31.

Wiki usage in enterprises could further proliferate when Microsoft ships a wiki feature in Office 2007 and SharePoint 2007 next year and IBM includes a wiki technology in a social computing product code-named Ventura, due in the first half of 2007.

It’s about time

20 November, 2006 | No comments

The online book: team authors, and its never finished

The online book: team authors, and its never finished | csmonitor.com

A cutting-edge online author in New York, Mr. Wark invites perfect strangers to interrupt his ideas with their own scribbling in the digital margins.If they make a good point, Wark amends his book. In the spring, the evolving text will be published on paper, weaving in the Web comments. Then, the author plans the ultimate surrender: Anyone will be allowed into the online version to dabble and delete at will.

Wark may be offering a glimpse into the future, where books - particularly nonfiction - become destinations for discussion rather than dog-eared possessions, and authors take on a more gregarious role akin to Oprah Winfrey or Terry Gross.

Very cool. Sort of wikis on steroids, but will it take hold?

20 October, 2006 | No comments

D.C. Conference Suggests Government Is Ready for Web 2.0

Intelligent Enterprise Magazine: In Focus: D.C. Conference Suggests Government Is Ready for Web 2.0

Is Web 2.0 in government an oxymoron? It would seem that Uncle Sam in particular could easily fall out of step with a “new” Web of blogs, wikis, podcasts and RSS. Yet last week’s “Gilbane Conference on Content Technologies in Government” in Washington, DC, suggests that federal Web managers are indeed exploring Web 2.0 technologies.

The cool part of this article is how the US Government is looking at using technolgies like Blogs, Wikis, and RSS feed. However the really interesting part is how the government is having governance issues of its own in relation to its websites.

27 June, 2006 | No comments

A Wiki Situation

Inside Higher Ed :: A Wiki Situation

The expression “data out the wazoo” may apply. Still, rare is the week when I don’t glance over at least half a dozen articles from Wikipedia. (As someone once said about the comic strip “Nancy,” reading it usually takes less time than deciding not to do so.)Basic cognitive literacy includes the ability to evaluate the strengths and the limitations of any source of information. Wikipedia is usually worth consulting simply for the references at the end of an article — often with links to other online resources. Wikipedia is by no means a definitive reference work, but it’s not necessarily the worst place to start.

A nicely done review of the place for Wiki-pedia. Should it be the answer to all of our questions? No. Should it not be considered when answering questions? No. The answer lies some place inbetween.

14 June, 2006 | No comments

Campaign manager resigns amid Wikipedia flap

CNN.com - Campaign manager resigns amid Wikipedia flap - Apr 26, 2006

Secretary of State Cathy Cox’s opponent, Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, said Cox campaign manager Morton Brilliant altered an online encyclopedia entry to include a reference to Taylor’s son being arrested for DUI after an accident that killed his passenger.

If more things like this happen we will see more honestly in the reporting of information on Wiki-pedia. Let’s hope they don’t go too far.

27 April, 2006 | No comments

Wikis and blogs transforming workflow

Wikis and blogs transforming workflow

Where e-mail and enterprise content management systems fall short, enterprise blogs and wikis shine as indispensable communication tools. Experts say CIOs should be looking at these Web-based tools not as renegade applications but as lightweight liberators that boost productivity throughout an organization.

Wow, where to start on this great article. The author clearly sees the potential that Wikis and Blogs have to transform the organization and cites some excellent examples. But Wikis and Blogs are a new paradigm, so they have faced some organizational resistance, I mean “that’s not the way we have always done it.” Even in academic environments, there is resistance to change. But the current workforce needs to beware. The up and coming one doesn’t think twice about these things.

nd the have another great article (Corporate blogging builds customer loyalty, worker efficiency) which examines how two companies are using blogs to leverage customer relations and even Microsoft has benefited from blogs.

26 April, 2006 | No comments

Collaboration, CRM v.2 and the Truth about Chat - Weigh In

Collaboration, CRM v.2 and the Truth about Chat - Weigh In - weighin - CIO

While self-service models, new-age knowledge management and more flexible on-demand deployment models are driving this next wave of CRM, an increasingly important foundation is collaboration. From blogs and wikis to IM and user forums, collaboration applications are undergoing a bit of a renaissance, especially as a business tool. At the same time, there still are a sizable number of “old-school” collaboration tools like Lotus Notes in many large organizations.

Blogs, wiki, chat, and CRM, oh my! It is great to see all these technologies converge in support of customer-organization digital stakeholder relationships.

23 March, 2006 | No comments

Cell phone-optimized Wikipedia now available

Cell phone-optimized Wikipedia now available

What did we ever do before the internet? Remember when you still had to go through volumes and volumes of encyclopedias to find little tidbits of information? Do you remember making use of a paperback almanac to play “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego”? Those days are long behind us now, especially thanks to sites like Wikipedia, and now the ultimate reference site is being offered in a cell-phone optimized version.

Very cool. Wikipedia for the cellphone or PDA. I will definitely be bookmarking the site.

20 March, 2006 | No comments

Fellow: Is Wikipedia Legit?

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Fellow: Is Wikipedia Legit?
Although traditionally ideas gained authority when they were published, and the “scarcity of paper…created the regime of authority,” the internet complicates the picture, Weinberger told the modest audience of around 25.

Harvard weighs in on Wikipedia…well not really, but the Harvard Crimson covers an event where the topic was discussed.

16 March, 2006 | No comments

Reuters Financial Glossary Wiki

Reuters Financial Glossary Wiki

Reuters is hosting a Financial Glossary Wiki, a fascinating case study for the way enterprises will host professional communities.

Neat idea and the way they rolled it out makes a lot of sense. It will be interesting to watch this one develop.

21 February, 2006 | No comments

Blogs, wikis make a home in the enterprise

Blogs, wikis make a home in the enterprise - Yahoo! News
San Francisco (InfoWorld) - Blogs and wikis have moved past the tech bling phase and are settling in as core fixtures in the enterprise collaboration infrastructure. Two enterprise content management vendors are helping drive this evolution, bolstering their platforms with security and auditing functions designed to preserve the sparkle of blogs and wikis while making the content safe for the enterprise.

Another good article about blogs and wikis in the enterprise.

 

17 February, 2006 | No comments

Software pioneer Bricklin tackles wikis

Software pioneer Bricklin tackles wikis | CNET News.com

In 1979, Bricklin released VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet for personal computers. Now he’s close to finishing the beta for WikiCalc, an open-source, browser-based collaboration tool that mimics the functionality of a spreadsheet while leveraging the technology of wikis, which let anyone, anywhere manipulate data across the Web.

Now this is really cool. Bricklin was one of the original creators of the spreadsheet and becasue he and his partners were not motivated by profit other companies like Lotus and MicroSoft have made millions…make that billions. So while I thought it was neat the he is involved with the Wiki Calc, I found it quite appropriate.

17 February, 2006 | No comments

World Wild Web

USATODAY.com - World Wild Web

Massachusetts newspapers disclosed last month that staffers for Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., had polished the boss’s Wikipedia biography. Deleted were references to a long-abandoned promise to serve only four terms and to his whopping campaign war chest. The new version was a virtual copy of the glowing bio on Meehan’s own website.

Could people be literally rewritting history? This has some interesting implications and supports the idea that open is not always a good thing when there are people with agendas.

8 February, 2006 | No comments

� Next entries