After reading the article about Web 2.0, I found a lot of useful sites that are being used. The two that I found to be the most interesting are Wikipedia and Socialtext. Both of these sites have common goals, in that they want users to be able to access a large amount of information quickly, and be able to share that information with others.
At the Wikipedia site I found it very easy to use and the about us section was quite extensive, listing their main purposes and strong points about the website, but they even mentioned some of their downfalls, which I thought was good to point out. Wikipedia is set up for many different languages, so there is limited cultural or lingusitic bias. There are many articles on the site givng participants access to pretty much any question they have. Each site is then linked with other sites, so the reader can quickly gain access to more information. The only downside to Wikipedia is that anyone with access to the Internet can go and change information on the sites simply by clicking edit page. Even though there are superior editors who monitor what is being changed, with the copious amount of articles, it is hard to keep track of each article. This then makes Wikipedia susceptible to having incorrect information put on their site. Overall, Wikipedia is a quick way to find out information.
Socialtext is the other site I visited. I thought that this site was a little harder to look around in. Socialtext’s main goal is for people and organizations to share information and collaborate on their findings. It did look as though this site was more focused towards organizations and businesses and not necessarily to the individual. It also focused a lot on change and an organization’s attempt to keep up with the times. Socialtext also incorporates a little of Wikipedia in that they use Wiki Workspaces which allows a group to edit pages, but only authorized users can view these pages. This makes it more secure and less likely to have incorrect information displayed.
Each site works to collaboratively work together to inform the public and allow the public a space to gain more knowledge and keep up with change. In my opinion, I think that Wikipedia is easier to use because it is more straightforward and it doesn’t cost anything. This makes it ideal for anyone, from students to adults. Socialtext does have a free trial, but then one must pay for it, which could be okay for a business or organization, but not as accommodating to an individual or younger person. Wikipedia allows for quick acces to many articles, and general information when people are looking to broaden their knowledge.
Links to these sites: Wikipedia, Socialtext
Wikipedia's Main Page
Socialtext's About Us Section
I also prefer Wikipedia for my own use if I just need to do a quick reference search. It is much more straightforward than Socialtext, which seems like it is intended for more professional uses. Wikipedia’s vulnerability to incorrect edits is pretty common knowledge, so, while it is definitely something to be watchful about, most people know that if something seems questionable, you should probably double-check elsewhere. I can definitely see how Socialtext would be beneficial in networking between organizations and forming contacts with other people in a certain field. For a business or organization, the service would probably be worth the subscription value. They seem to have a decent support/tutorial system for new customers looking to integrate Socialtext into their organization, which is a great idea for a product that is a little complicated.
I had originally looked at Wikipedia and Twiki but also looked at the Socialtext website after reading your blog. I found it to be a fairly helpful site, and think it would be really great for group work and projects. I find it much easier to use websites like Wikipedia to look information up quickly, but I definitely found Socialtext to be much more secure and reliable and seemed a little like Twiki in terms of the fact that its focus is on group rather than individuals (which i noticed you pointed out in your blog). Overall, I think Socialtext is a very useful website, espcially for collaboration purposes.