by Rose Spotts

Created on: July 31, 2008

Wikis are one of the most exciting new types of information resources out there. When wikis first started to appear, there was a lot of curiosity surrounding them by information professionals. Some were excited by the idea of completely accessible information and input from anyone and others were a little taken aback by the idea of such easy access.

Using a simplified mark up language, the wiki allows users to not only access information but also put their own knowledge on a subject into the page in order to correct or update the information it contains. More than likely, when you first think of wikis you first think of Wikipedia, which is basically a massive collaborative encyclopedia available on the internet. Other types of wikis include collaborative pages on specific websites, within specific companies and for different communities on the internet.

One of the most attractive aspects of the wiki is that it is collaborative. The fact that someone can find new information and then add their own information to it is a very attractive feature. It allows for the knowledge of not only the site owners, but the knowledge of the users who may or may not have some new information the owners previously did not know.

Another great way a wiki is used is within a project setting. A project wiki is a valuable and flexible tool that allows communication between members of a project who can then communicate what they have learned or what stage of the project they are on. This allows the information to be exchanged, altered and built upon by each member and their activity in the project to create a sort of central base of information that once the project is completed will provide access to detailed information on each member's part of the project and the final outcome.

They can also be used to provide interactive texts for students and teachers in classes. It allows each student to pitch their own ideas and knowledge on the subject of the class and maintain a database of that information for reference purposes later.

The interface of the wiki is also a very attractive feature. The fact that it doesn't allow html and css style sheets to be used limits the ability of the user to block any information and keeps the interface simple and clean. It makes it possible for all users to maintain a stable, usable state.

Wikis have become popular because it allows the user to be involved in an ongoing collaborative creation and provides access to information in a simple, user friendly interface.

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