Unlike blogs, which originated as a place for individual users to post information, wikis were developed from the start as a way for many people to collaborate, and to produce a unified pool of information. As a result the emphasis is on providing information of lasting value. Put at its simplest a wiki is a piece of software that allows users to freely create and edit web page content using any web browser. Structurally the wiki consists of a series of web pages each containing hyperlinks to other pages within the wiki or to external sources.
Since the links can be applied at the word level, a single wiki page may contain many links. The wiki model is closer to that of the World Wide Web itself, with the added functionality that it may be written, edited and updated by many different people. This concept is sometimes known as "open content" or "open editing."
Both blogs and wikis have developed to the point where they share many of the same attributes. Both use search engines as the primary means of navigation, both are easy to update and edit. Neither require any specialized HTML knowledge to either set up or update. Both use the latest Web2.0 concepts of categorization and tagging.
Ultimately the choice between a blog or a wiki comes down to the intended use of the content.
If the content is designed to tell people about what's happening in your business or is of a fleeting or time critical nature, then a blog is the best choice.
If your content is designed to be around for a long time, be it a knowledge base of products, an encyclopedia, or even your corporate best practices and policy manuals then a wiki is the preferred solution.
DCLnews Editorial
