23 Things wiki on PBwiki
Had fun adding to the 23 things wiki. (Hint - look for the Holstein.) The PBwiki interface was easy to use, the toolbar options in the editing / composing screen were straightforward and offered a pretty good range of tools. It was simple to create a table, import an image, or create a link to another URL or wikipage. As I am not fluent in html, this was critical to using the wiki efficiently. Creating a new page was also easy. I liked the template option idea, although the particular templates available might not be very useful in a library setting. They seemed geared more to schoolwork, more for either the student or the educator. But it also looked like you could develop template of your own that might more closely fit a library milieu. Or maybe others in the PBwiki community have developed templates one could use.
I read "Using Wikis to Create Online Communities" by Meredith Farkas. She makes some valid points about the possible uses for wikis in libraries. But the whole idea of making the library’s website the online hub of the community -- I'm skeptical. It just seems to be another of those let's be all things to all people endeavors. Mission creep. Why is this a role the library should take on? Does it make sense? Is the library website the best place for local restaurant reviews? Aren't other places doing that better already? I just dunno.
I looked at some of the example of libraries using this for staff information, policies and so on. I think that kind of use makes a whole lot of sense. Our own library is experimenting with some similar uses.
Luv that Lee LeFever and his videos. He's got another winner with his "Wikis in plain English".
I set up a quick wiki on PBwiki, I'm already using it to coordinate Christmas gift buying with my family. I really can see the benefits of this kind of tool for a lot of collaborative efforts. I discovered that PBWiki also had some more useful templates available at the page level. These make it easier to set up a specific-purpose page, e.g. project tracker, document repository, team member list and others.
