Wikis: working better together

What are wikis?

Wikis are friendly platforms for collaboratively developing documents. They enable multiple users to view and edit documents in ‘real time’. Users can review and discuss changes and even revert to earlier drafts.

Why are wikis important to your network?

Collaboration: Individuals and organizations can create common documents and resources more effectively than ever before using wikis.
Knowledge-sharing: Wikis also faciltiate the development and sharing of common resources. For example, the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia is a wiki.
Thinking space: Does your group need a cheap and easy place to post information, events, and maybe even pull feeds? Many wikis can do this for little to no cost.

How can you use wikis?

Create a private wiki to share intelligence around a key issue, for example outcomes of meetings with key policy makers. This is effectively a private bulletin board with the latest insider scoop.
Collaborate with others in your network to share resources around your issue.
- Communities Connect Network created a wiki to bring together seven different organizations around the subject of community technology. Through the wiki they sharereports, funding opportunities, events and success stories.
Use a wiki to bring your organization together for any major project (conference, strategic planning, new program design, etc.)
- Durham County Library system used a wiki to develop its 3 year stratgeic plan.
Insert your organization’s materials and information in key conversations on Wikipedia.
- Human Rights Watch maintains an entry in wikipedia about the organization, but it also has links to several pages relevant to their issues. For example, if you look up Zimbabwe elections, you'll find information by and/or about Human Rights Watch and their interest in the events in southern Africa.

How to build wikis

Getting started with wikis

Check out this great resource on wikis from the folks at CommonCraft.

Collected Thoughts

Indictment of Online Strategies: The Man in the Mirror Doesn't Trust You Either.

December 9, 2009 - 4:47am — Marty

This should be a wake up call for lots of online strategies that are not transparent, don't communicate results and just leverage online work to build a base of donating click monkeys. People are not happy with the distrust shown to them online.

This study mentioned in Philanthropy of 587 PEOPLE WHO USE NEW MEDIA ... has nothing to do with the failure of the platform but of the philosophy and world view of those who run organizations.

Online strategy and communications behind many organizations use of the online tools doesn't typically engage, empower and listen. There is a high degree of distrust of online supporters by organizers and organizations.

Somehow the open and welcome culture of organizing "if they show up at a meeting engage them and work with them" has not translated into online organizing space.

Old guard leaders don't trust their own instincts or methods used to filter "good supporters and bad supporters" in the online space and therefore they distrust all online supports and only offer them limited engagement, information or resources.

The Economic Crash and the Advocacy Movement

December 15, 2008 - 3:10am — Marty

At this stage, it is clear that we are headed for extraordinarily difficult financial times. The cash crunch for the advocacy movement will be as bad as we can imagine and far worse than we can easily manage. We need a plan for how to remain effective.

What Makes a Good Weaver?

June 11, 2008 - 3:37pm — Laurie

Network weavers are individuals with the energy and ability to connect network members. They bring people together to take advantage of network resources, and make sure communications are working smoothly. Weavers are often individuals who like working with others. They know and remember lots of people, and are excited to make new connections.