Blogs vs. Wikis

Blog
Blog, short for web log, an online, regularly updated journal or newsletter that is readily accessible to the general public by virtue of being posted on a website. Blogs typically report and comment on topics of interest to the author, and are usually written and posted using software specifically designed to facilitate blogging; they include hyperlinks to other website and, often, photos, video clips, and the like. The most recent entry by the blogger is posted at the beginning of the blog, with earlier entries following in reverse chronological order; comments and other responses to the blog by readers are often posted after each entry.


A blog (a blend of the term web log) is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites. Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (video blogging or vlogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts. As of 16 February 2011, there were over 156 million public blogs in existence. Wikipedia on Blogs
 
Wiki
Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and cross links between internal pages on the fly.


A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include community websites, corporate intranets, knowledge management systems, and note services. Wikis serve different purposes. Some permit control over different functions (levels of access). For example editing rights may permit changing, adding or removing material. Others may permit access without enforcing access control. Other rules can be imposed for organizing content. Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work." Wikipedia on Wikis

Blogs and Wikis
After reading this article Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid, we can easily recognize the importance of blogs.

This New York Times article  An Internal Wiki That’s Not Classified shows how the wikis becoming very useful not only to individuals also Governments. The advantages are obvious, in efficiency and in saving paper, but it has required a leap of faith, too.

Term Research Project

My Topic: Social Business Networking "LinkedIn"

Topic Type: Analyzing a New Media with both positive and negative impacts.

LinkedIn, a business-related social networking site, was founded in December 2002 and Launced in May 2003.

Project Description:

• Analyzing the LinkedIn's background and features.


• Analyzing the mew media application and method used.


• Finding and analyzing the positive impacts on socielty and business.


• Finding and and analyzing the negative impacts on society and business.

What is New Media?

I want to start with few words- create, modify, share, simple. We can put these words together and say about new media- The idea that allows someone to create, modify and share content with friends, colleagues, relatives or even the whole world, using simple and inexpensive tools, as long as he/she has a computer or portable device with internet access.

To me new media is going over several books, while a reading single page a novel. It's like analyzing a poem for couple of hours vs. lots of blog pages on the same poem in a moment. But new media does lack emotions, attachments with the root.

In Friedmans' "The New Media Technologies: Overview and Research Framework" we find a details picture of New Media vs. Old Media. Old media – newspapers, magazines, radio, television – are communication delivery systems. The new media comes up with 5 C's: communication, collaboration, community, creativity, and convergence. These technologies distinguish new media from old media. Examples of new media are- blogs, wikis, online social networking, virtual worlds and other social media forms.

On the age of old media, we had to go over few books or some training to troubleshoot a technical problem. But now we just go surfing- wikis, blogs and specially, YouTube for hands-on tutorial. Clive Thomson's article can be noted here as reference.