A blog is the complete opposite of a wiki, in which it is a type of website that is maintained by a specific individual. ore importantly, unlike a wiki, a blog does not allow others to have access to edit or change the information provided in the blog. The entries of commentaries and the information shared in blogs are purely subjective upon an individual's perception, opinions, and experiences. It mostly protects the privacy of the blogger through which the blogger has the ability to control what can be seen by others, who are blocked, what to edit, delete and post, and whether or not others can read, comment, or access his/her blog. Only the blogger has the authority and no one else does, which is why blogs are usually seen as a more professional software also because professionals use blogs in order to comment and point out their ideas on certain present issues and controversies.
Comment on the importance of convergence in today's networked world.
The convergence of old media into new media has become an extraordinary factor in shaping the world we live in today. Convergence is the driving force behind the new media that creates a disturbance in old media, obliging old media to compete with new media in order to stay in the market. For example, television is competing with the internet, through which a surge of viewers go online to watch the shows they want to see or missed at the time when they are able to (Eg: Hulu, Tivo). This hurts the television industries, because the show ratings are being eaten up by the online entities that allow people to watch the shows that are aired in TV. Basically, although through convergence, the augmentation of old media into new media is made possible, it is seen, at present, how new media is eating up old media. Due to this, old media may have to plummet from pop culture and permit new media to ascend although the only harm that it does is morph old media into new media.
Because old media is usually a closed barrier to which only the ones with authorities are able to control what is being published, posted, and shared to the general public, here comes the new media that allows for the opposite. New media has permitted any and every individual to get their voice heard and to express themselves with the talent they are skilled in. Also, new media allows them to exhibit these skills to the world; hence, empowering the common people and enabling the community to converge, collaborate, create, and communicate as a community together. Together, a demographic of people are able to share what they have created to the world and make it available for everyone else. Members of these communities are able to lend a hand and contribute to the community while pursuing his/her interests. With the help of others, they are able to enjoy working on their hobbies and create something out of the ordinary and reap the fruits of their efforts and dedication. An example of this is Facebook, made by a group of students in Harvard to create a community inside their university and enable the students to communicate with others through this social networking site. Because Facebook rose to popularity, it expanded to other colleges and universities and soon, to everyone else in the world although the primary purpose of this social network is exclusively for the use of the students in Harvard only.
How can blogs be used for collaboration?
Blogs can be used for collaboration through user generated commentary, discussion or conversation on a topic and issue of a certain entry, and an available chat-box application in the blog home-page, to name a few. It would also be a great way to collaborate by subscribing to someone else's blog in order to receive blog updates from that individual and write up a response or comment about the present matter. One's blog can generate much popularity by linking that person's blog into your site so other people are able to see and read and comment on the the entries in that blog. An example through which a blog has been used for collaboration is Perez HIlton's Blog, which is viewed, commented, and discussed by a myriad of people around the world.
A New Use for Wikis
The article "How To Use Wikis for Business" illustrates how wikis have been so beneficial to businesses lately. Through a wiki, business colleagues working on a team project are able to organize how the information is presented, edit and add more details to build the project more. This makes it much more easier for professionals to edit errors and change information whereas with Word Documents and Spreadsheets, team members create changes while the others are correcting some information at the same time (sometimes overwriting the changes made by others). This, in turn, creates a chaotic team-work, in which the colleagues are unaware what is changed or not and who has the latest version of the file. Because this is so, the notion that wikis are unprofessional is blurred since businesses have used it in a way that makes it a professional software.
There have been numerous uses for wikis in various fields as business, education, and politics. Other possible uses for wikis may be to include the field of medicine and research, technology, and fitness in order to help share each others' ideas and knowledge into the database and help come up with better hypotheses and objectives through collaboration and interaction.
"How to Use Wikis for Business," by Ezra Goodnoe, Information Week, August 8, 2005,http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=167600331
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