Wikis

Group Members:
 * Peter Quattrociocchi III
 * David Wiess
 * Sean McMakin
 * Jeffery Reynolds

Named after the wiki wiki bus (wiki means "quick" in Hawaiian), WikiWikiWeb was the first wiki. Before there were wiki's, there was no real form pre-digital. There were books that had information, but none that would change as frequently, if at all, or with as many contributors. Textbooks and laws were constantly changed with newer versions, so one could say it is a pre-digital form on wiki's. Although literally everyone can't submit the content, many are able to discuss it and a few editor's take care of taking all that was accepted and committing it to printed form.

In some ways, wikis seem to be the near ultimate realization of the main goal of mass media over the decades: not only give content to the largest number of people possible, but allow them to engage in creating the content. A wiki popularizes information and allows everyone to have a hand in creating useful or interesting articles, linking them to other pieces of information.

What draws people to this format of information is that anyone can change anything (there are private wiki's, but a "true" wiki is one in which anyone can edit and read). Wiki's have been used for many purposes including group projects, documents, encyclopedias, fan fiction, school works. If one was to have an idea, one may change, add, or take away from the wiki. It is a very appealing idea to change something and have it show up for other's to see as if you were knowledgeable on the subject matter. Everyone in the class should have done a wiki or contributed it in some manner, since a requirement for homework in the class is to do such.

Noteworthy links:
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
 * http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Wikia_Gaming
 * http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page

The first wiki link is the most well known. It is the first thing people think of when one says "wiki". It is a collaborative wiki that anyone and everyone can add to that has an insurmountable amount of information. Although one might think such a site would have false information, a study was taken that compared wikipedia to the encyclopedia Britannica and was found that the encyclopedia actually had contained more errors. The second link is to a gaming wiki. It is a collection of other wiki's which are involved specifically games (sports, video games, etc...). It is basically a way for a user to find specific wiki's for their gaming interest. The third is a how-to wiki that people created to show others how to do tasks. From making lasers to changing the oil in your car, it has practically anything you'd need to know.