FEDC Web Communication Strategies
Blogs
About Blogs
Example Blogs
Blog Advantages
- easy to add new materials
- visible in search engines
- open to comments from outside (or completely closed)
- automatic, readable syndication feeds (for reading and repurposing - more at RSS in Plain English)
Blog Disadvantages
- they go stale quickly
- they are vulnerable to spam
- chronologically organized even within topics
- no history mechanism
Blog Uses
Blogs are best suited for activities in which the flow of information is mostly one-way, from the blogging organization or person to an audience, with a single-- but robust-- channel for comments to be returned. So they are useful for sharing news about projects and organizational activities, etc., but not so useful for collaborative work on those projects.
Wikis
About Wikis
Wiki Examples
Wiki Advantages
- Easy, in-place editing
- Low-barrier collaborative space
- History mechanism, revision tracking
- Multiple levels of security
Wiki Disadvantages
- Chaotic growth
- Comments are "detached" from content (focus on revision)
- Fully summarizing individual contributions is difficult
Wiki Uses
Wikis are designed for collaborating on the revision of a document (or group of documents). Wiki work is two-way and in-place, so it is suitable for working on policy and project documents, less useful for simple comments or announcements. Most corporate wikis are locked behind firewalls and passwords, but significant users of wikis for collaboration include all kinds of corporations, city governments, banking agencies, etc. BMW and Dow Jones come immediately to mind.