SOL "Niki" (Wikipedia @ Ning)

[Kamila Novakova]

Hi folks,

I've noticed we have a lot of stuff to share but it was difficult to find an easy form how to do it. Perhaps Ning itself can provide us with clever solution... I've just discovered the "Niki" platform (a Wikipedia-like feature at Ning) and I really like its possibilities!

[If you are interested how does it work, please visit http://widgetlaboratory.ning.com/widget.php?app=wiki, then click the "Product Demos" button on the right sidebar and then scroll the page down to the "Niki" presentation. Enjoy exploration!]

I vote for taking a probe - maybe it would be difficult to manage the content (and some volunteering editors perhaps would be wanted as well), anyway I guess we have to try it first... I suppose it would enable sharing ideas in more organized form then discussions, forums and blogs can provide all together (however great these featueres seem to be).

What do you think? :)

Cheers,

Kamila


P.S.: "Niki" is a paid feature but the price is very reasonable (and, as I hope, it will pay off in the future). Perhaps we could share fees within the Steering Group? At least, I am ready to participate. :)

[Mark McKergow]

Hi Kamila and Hans-Peter

I think this is a finely balanced discussion. On the one hand I would be delighted to get us more exposure in the normal Wikipedia - however my experience of trying to get stuff onto it has been depressing and futile. On the other hand our own thing would be much easier to use and assemble - however, it would not be nearly so widely visible. What do other people think?

[Hans-Peter Korn]

Well, it seems we have different experiences with Wikipedia: For me it was possible in a reasonable way to change this entry in Wikipedia:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%B6sungsfokussierte_Therapie

Of course, in the first steps it was necessary for me to incorporate some "Wikipedia Rules"... but this also will be necessary for an own "body"...

So, for me it worked.... and I would prefer to do more of it...

For example: To receive more inputs to this draft in Wikipedia:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:H-p-korn/L%C3%B6sungsfokussie...
to make it "open for all".

[Paolo Terni]

Hi guys!

I have not had any experience editing stuff on wikipedia.
Having said that, I like Hans-Peter idea better.
It makes sense to use what is already there.
It will give us more visibility.
Of course everything depends on the goals - but since we already have a social network, I think that a "database" on wikipedia is the way to go.
First, let's make use of that.
Then, we'll see.

Best,
Paolo

PS: i know, I am the resident geek... I can't help it! :) but I just finished reading the book Here comes everybody and I think it is a wonderful book to understand social tools and how they are changing the way we connect; my point of view is strongly influenced by what I understood by reading that.

[Hans-Peter Korn]

In addition to this posting I want to point on a very useful description of the emergent creation of "bluepedia":

Gunter Dueck zur Bluepedia

and

IBM-Professor Dueck: IBM-Wikipedia Bluepedia profiliert sich als fr...

I highly recommend to read the original article in the recent issue of "Computer Spectrum" (= volume 31, no 3, pp 262 - 269)

In this article I found a lot of "proofs", that a successful wiki is a emergent, complex and self organising hyperdoc... predefining the structure would reduce the unique strength of this kind of hyperdoc.

And a experience, that such a wiki is working only if the numbers of readers and editors are quite big... the editors in the range of 50 and more... and the readers many hundreds or - even better - thousands...