Communication is a significant challenge for groups working together toward a common goal. This is particularly true when the groups members are geographically remote, for example, members of a statewide task force, or colleagues working in a multi-office program. Collaboration requires information sharing, give and take among the group’s members, and opportunity for consensus building.

Email, conference calls, and webinars are commonly used to facilitate collaboration among a group’s members. But each of these technologies has drawbacks. Group members must be simultaneously available to participate in conference calls and webinars. Email can get lost in an individual user’s inbox, and it can be difficult to promote discussion on a list. Is there an alternative?

Increasingly, groups are using wikis to capture knowledge, share information, and communicate with one another across space and time. This article will describe wikis, what they can and cannot do, and how to choose a wiki platform. Accompanying articles offers some examples of law-related and legal services wikis and choices for creating low-cost wikis.

What is a Wiki?

A wiki is a web-based, collaborative workspace. Wikis are inherently democratic, as they are created and maintained by their users. A wiki consists of a series of web pages, each of which can be edited by any member of the group. Because each of these pages is hyperlinked, the wiki functions like a database of information about the wiki’s topic.

Wikis use simple markup language and can be edited using a web browser, making them easy to use. Because the workspace is “open,” it can be updated quickly, hence the name “wiki,” which is Hawaiian for “fast.” Most wikis are built so that individual edits to a page are “published” to the wiki immediately.

Wikis are attractive as a collaboration tool because they are democratic (any user may edit or contribute content, they are asynchronous (users can need not be present at the same time), and they can grow and change organically to meet the group’s needs. Common Craft, a video production studio, has made a helpful video explaining in plain English how wikis work.

Probably the most popular wiki is Wikipedia, a free, online encyclopedia that is written and edited collaboratively by volunteers. As of August 2007, Wikipedia had approximately 7.9 million articles in 253 languages, making it the largest, most extensive, and fastest growing encyclopedia ever compiled.

Since wikis are created and edited freely by users, users may question the trustworthiness of information posted on them. However, because of the collaborative nature of wikis, they tend to be “self-correcting,” that is, the users themselves will tend to correct inaccuracies or out-of-date information posted to the wiki.

Features of a Wiki

Depending on the wiki platform you choose (i.e., the software used to run the wiki), a wiki will typically include the following features:

Easy to maintain. The web-based editing tools built into all wiki platforms make it simple for users to edit, add, and delete pages on the wiki without having to know HTML code. Many wiki platforms even include so-called WYSIWYG or “what you see is what you get” editorial interfaces, which offer users familiar formatting tools, such as bold, italics, and bullets.

Searchability. Most wikis can be searched by keyword. Keyword search is critical, since most wikis develop organically and, depending on whether or not they are facilitated or edited, may contain multiple pages or posts on the same or similar topics.

Web Feeds. Many wikis will include links to RSS feeds that are either wiki-wide or page-specific. These feeds enable wiki users to more easily keep apprised of changes to the wiki and/or specific pages within the wiki that are of particular interest to the user.

History. The history of edits to each wiki page is automatically stored on the wiki, and users can readily view all changes to a particular page, or recent changes to any page in the wiki. This is particularly useful for tracking revisions on a particular topic, for example, changes in a draft letter to the editor being written by a group. The “recent changes” link, which typically displays the last 50 changes to any page in the wiki, is helpful for wiki administrators monitoring wiki use and encouraging content development on the wiki.

Security. Different wiki software will enable you to create public, private, or hybrid wikis. For example, you may choose to make your wiki open to the public to read, but restrict editing privileges to registered users. A completely private wiki can only been seen and/or edited by designated users.

Best Practices When Creating and Using a Wiki

Although wiki software is generally easy to use, it is new to many users. Moreover, because the wiki depends on its users to sustain it, it is vital that users feel comfortable using the wiki. Therefore, it is important to plan and implement your wiki carefully.

When planning your wiki, consider the type of collaboration the wiki will be designed to support. Will the group be working on a project together? A series of meetings? Will wiki users need to exchange documents with one another? Other content, such as images, video? Will the work be ongoing or finite? These considerations will drive decision-making on what type of wiki platform to choose as well as how to structure initial content on the wiki so that users can successfully build on it.

When contemplating a wiki to support project management, consider at the outset which elements of the project are most amenable to collaboration. Moreover, if the project is already underway, what is the current process for that collaboration? For example, if the wiki will support a group of advocates working on a task force, how do those advocates communicate now? Via email? A listserv or discussion group? Consider how the wiki best supplements or supplants that communication medium. For example, can the group eliminate some meetings through exchange of information on the wiki?

Below are some best practices to consider when planning a wiki project.

Provide training to users. Depending on the platform you use, written material and/or online help may be available to new users. However, some people may have “wikiphobia” and need extra, hands-on help getting acclimated to the wiki. Consider producing screencasts documenting common wiki tasks, such as adding or editing a page. Another idea is to host online gatherings, or webinars, to orient new users to the wiki. Communities Connect Network, a nonprofit in Washington State that seeks to support and advance community technology, sponsors a one-hour phone and online gathering called “wiki Wednesdays.” Topics have included orientation for new users, including how-tos for adding and editing pages.

Create a scaffold or template for content to be posted on your wiki. This helps new users determine where to add content and what types of content should be shared on the wiki. For example, if you are creating a wiki for collaboration and communication among colleagues in a program with multiple offices, set up wiki pages for a staff directory, individual units within the program, personnel policies and forms, etc. Then, ask relevant staff to contribute content to each of these areas, e.g., ask the family law advocates to build out that section of the wiki. Or, if you are creating a wiki for collaboration around a taskforce’s work, create wiki pages for each of the taskforce’s planned meetings and ask group members to contribute ideas to future meeting agendas.

Create a “sandbox” on the wiki where new users can play. Create a page specifically for new users where the content is unimportant. They cannot “break” anything in the sandbox, so they may feel free to try new tools and experiment with different ways of formatting content there. This is especially useful for experiential learners, who prefer to do things hands-on.

Drive users to the wiki by having some content that is exclusively available there. For example, put your meeting agendas on a wiki instead of attaching them to an email. Create a staff directory that includes photographs, office addresses and phone numbers, and links to email addresses or even blogs written by individual staff. These wiki pages can act as a magnet to draw members of your group to the wiki and get them acclimated to using it to share and exchange information with the group.

Create an FAQ. If your wiki is topical, consider creating a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ). For example, if you have a wiki on immigrant eligibility for public benefits, you could create a list of questions on eligibility for specific benefit programs for different types of immigrants. Users may then be encouraged to contribute to the FAQ page by writing and editing short answers to the questions. This acclimates the members of your group to the wiki, while creating a knowledge base on your topic.

Use some part of the wiki for a non-work-related task. For example, post the game schedule for the office softball league, or ask for help planning the office holiday party. Using some portion of the wiki for social organization can draw users in and help them to see the advantages of using the wiki as a collaborative tool.

Appoint a “wiki gardener.” Because wikis are so free-form, they often need maintenance from an editor or moderator who regularly removes outdated information, combines duplicative posts, and reorganizes posts to make them easier to find and digest.

Wiki Platforms

There are many choices for wiki platforms, or software and/or third-party hosting services to run your wiki. Below are a few questions to ask when choosing a wiki platform:

Will you install your own software and host the wiki on your server or subscribe to a hosted service? You will have more control over features on a wiki that you install and host yourself, but the software and the hardware must be maintained by you. Using a hosted service outsources maintenance, but may limit available features.

How many users will you have? How large will the wiki grow? Some hosted solutions impose limitations or charge fees based on how much data is transferred from and to their servers. Others charge fees based on the total size of the wiki. If you anticipate that your wiki is likely to be frequently used by a large audience, or that wiki users will want to post a large number of files to the wiki, these may be factors in your choice.

Should the wiki have a WYSIWYG editor? A WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) editor is recommended for a wiki that will be used by nontechnical staff, as it makes adding and editing content much easier for less-sophisticated users.

Should the wiki be located at your own domain? Are there other branding issues? Would you like a custom domain for your wiki, e.g., http://mywiki.myname.com? Would you like to personalize your wiki with your organization’s logo or other graphics?

Will the wiki be open to the public or closed to a small group? Different wikis offer different layers of security for reading, editing, and commenting on pages within the wiki.

Will users require notification of changes to the wiki? As noted above, some wikis offer RSS feeds of the wiki or individual pages within the wiki, which can facilitate keeping users apprised of recent changes to the wiki. Other wikis offer users the choice to receive email notification of changes to the wiki.

These are only a few considerations. A good place to comparison shop for wikis is Wiki Matrix. Wiki Matrix allows users to compare features among dozens of popular wiki tools, and even includes a wizard that will help you narrow your choices once you answer a few simple questions about your needs.