Week Two

Week Two: Okay, so I have browsed through the suggested wikis this past week and I have to admit I am a fence sitter. There are technology demons sitting on both my shoulders, whispering in my ears. What fun. This is what my demons are whispering. Of course, they often speak at once, which makes it hard to hear… Pathfinders can be useful, especially if they are constantly updated, but I am a visual person and find pathfinders lackluster at best. It would be interesting to log how heavily pathfinders are used. What methods do Internet users take to find the information they are seeking? Do they make the effort to find a pathfinder or do they just get on Google and go?

Like many before me, the Book Lovers wiki intrigued me. I know I have come across children’s book wikis, but I could not find them again as I browsed this past week. So, although I think in theory the idea of consolidating communication and information through a wiki makes sense, in practice there are so many wikis, blogs etc. out there, how is this consolidating information? On the other shoulder, what is one more? I will use/contribute to the ones I know and ignore the rest.

I do like the idea of a collaborative website, however with any collaborative endeavor you run the risk of questionable credibility and authority. I like Wikipedia, I am familiar with it. And I have not yet found information I questioned on the site, but I know that in the past even Wikipedia has struggled with this issue. A “book lovers” format would probably not require the same level of credibility as a medical site so our risk may be low. For know the demons are quiet (thank goodness), but as I continue to process this information, I remain undecided.

Disclaimer: I do not usually hear voices, only when technology is involved. I do however believe in faeries, gobleygooks, goblins, purple dinosaurs, and tomtens.