Blogs and wikis are two forms of new media with the primary
purpose of sharing information and news. These two types of sites both promote
widespread sharing of more specific topics than those covered in “old media.”
Because they are based on the web, they can be easily accessed and can contain
as much or as little information as the users or creators want. These two media
types are good examples of the convergence caused by Web 2.0. Much of the
social media popping up today can be connected with each other and in some
cases feed off each other. These forms of new media are similar enough to create
convergence, yet different enough to remain independent sites. Both wikis and
blogs can be created and run by an average Joe, and both facilitate specificity
of information.
However, the two forms of new media have their fair share of
differences, as well. Wikis are edited and added to by whoever has access,
which in most cases, is anyone. Most blogs are controlled by one person. He or
she creates the content and can scan the comments and discussions, as well. The
goal of wikis is to feed on collaboration and a vast amount of human brainpower
in order to share complete and correct information. The more people there are
with access, the more additions and extra information there can be provided.
For example, in a company wiki such as those described in the article More on How to Build Your Own Wikipedia,
multiple employees are able to edit and add to the wiki through content and
discussions in order to help the team fully grasp and understand the project
and complete it faster. Wikis are used for all sorts of cool things. I’m not
sure if there is one out there, but a wiki could be a great place to compile
stats or logs for things such as sports or other events.
Blogs can use collaboration also, just not to the extent as
wikis can. Most, if not all, of the collaboration involved in blogs is through
the discussions in comments on posts. Although the blogger has all the control,
viewers can post comments on the content. For example, the article Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid
discusses how the discussions within the comments of a blog based in Brooklyn
helped with the arrest of criminals. This shows how effective collaboration can
be on these media sites.
I think the reading that you mentioned "brooklyn blog..." gave a hybrid approached provided factual information and how people felt about what was going on, that subjective and objective. But active participation in collaboration is what make these two tools useful, especially for something like neighborhood protection.
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