A wiki (pronounced wik-ee) allows different people to collaboratively work on a document, they are usually utilized by people in a group working on the same document. Someone could be sitting in one room editing a document and someone in another room could be sitting editing parts of the same document. Wikis especially work well for groups who already know each other
Wikis can be used by many different types of organisations.
Corporations
Large companies such as corporations may not use wikis for the purpose of getting information out about their products and services as they are already likely to have big marketing budgets for this purpose. Instead, corporations may use wikis for internal purposes, so rather than putting important information in the company intranet putting it on a wiki will make it more accessible for staff. Other companies may use wikis in order to receive customer feedback [1], to develop software [2] and to communicate [3].
Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
SME's would use wikis as it is a cheap way to communicate and to gather information for easy access. SME's can also use wikis to communicate with clients [4]. The company Carbon Five uses wikis to colloaborate with clients and give each client their own space.
Public Sector Organisations
As public sector organisations are funded by public money they may use wikis as a way to be transparent about their operations to the general public. They may also see it as a way to release information to the general public. For example, the UK government set up a wiki dedicated to the spread of flu in Britain and to offer people tips on how to avoid the flu, [5]. The trend has been for wikis that are set up by public organisations to have "stronger safeguards" than typical wikis [6].
Charities
As wikis are open source and may websites offer the ability to create free wikis this will appeal greatly to charities. They will be able to get information about their activities out to a wide audience quickly [7]. . Links
Wikis can be used by many different types of organisations.
Corporations
Large companies such as corporations may not use wikis for the purpose of getting information out about their products and services as they are already likely to have big marketing budgets for this purpose. Instead, corporations may use wikis for internal purposes, so rather than putting important information in the company intranet putting it on a wiki will make it more accessible for staff. Other companies may use wikis in order to receive customer feedback [1], to develop software [2] and to communicate [3].
Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
SME's would use wikis as it is a cheap way to communicate and to gather information for easy access. SME's can also use wikis to communicate with clients [4]. The company Carbon Five uses wikis to colloaborate with clients and give each client their own space.
Public Sector Organisations
As public sector organisations are funded by public money they may use wikis as a way to be transparent about their operations to the general public. They may also see it as a way to release information to the general public. For example, the UK government set up a wiki dedicated to the spread of flu in Britain and to offer people tips on how to avoid the flu, [5]. The trend has been for wikis that are set up by public organisations to have "stronger safeguards" than typical wikis [6].
Charities
As wikis are open source and may websites offer the ability to create free wikis this will appeal greatly to charities. They will be able to get information about their activities out to a wide audience quickly [7]. .
Links
[1] Microsoft
[2] Disney
[3]Yahoo
[4] Carbon Five
[5] Flu Wiki
[6] The Guardian
[7] One Laptop Per Child