Comments on: Discussion Post 4: New Tech

By: Rhonda Church

Rhonda Church — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:25:53 +0000

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By: Ashley Davis

Ashley Davis — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:25:54 +0000

I thought both of these videos were really interesting. I had never heard of wikis of RSS before, and thought that they are both really great advances. Wikis seemed like a perfect idea for the situation in the video, but I find it difficult to think of daily reasons why it would be necessary. Also, because there is no possibility to see past revisions, someone else can get rid of your posts. The RSS was also something that seems like it would benefit my life. It would really cut down on the time I spend looking at different websites. Since I am not as technologically adept as I thought, these videos really helped inform me of some of the new technology on the internet.

By: Trent Justice

Trent Justice — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:22:53 +0000

I watched the video on the RRS to see if I would learn anything new. I have been using RRS reader since the beginning of last semester when I decided to get a google email. The video was right on in its presentation of the RRS technology: it really does save you time and make life a lot easier. I personally recommend using google’s RRS since you can add it to a toolbar that sits on the side of your desktop updating on its own every so often.

By: Tracey Watson

Tracey Watson — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:30:50 +0000

I watched the video on wikis. It was interesting. I sort of knew what they were, but after watching the short video I feel like I understand wikis a little bit better. I now even understand a little bit more on how easy it is to edit one. I think that they are good, when communicating a lot of information among a lot people, like wikipedia does. I also like the example of the letter sending in the beginning of the video.

By: Satie Munn

Satie Munn — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:04:57 +0000

I watched the first video on Wikis. In the camping example they gave, using the Wiki seemed to be the most efficient way to coordinate their information. Wikis do seem useful because everyone can access one site of information which reduces the need to send massive emails back and forth. The only downside I see is if someone edits something wrong. What if the first person puts down an item they need but the second person feels like it is not necessary and deletes it off the list before the other two people see the item? Maybe the second person is wrong and deleted an item that could prove to be useful because he is inexperienced with camping. Otherwise, I feel like this technology can be useful but it is not the only efficient way to communicate.

By: Patrick Britton

Patrick Britton — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:20:05 +0000

I watched the video on wikis. I think the video was a bit restrictive in itself because it made it seem like creating a wiki was the only solution to coordinating between more than 2 people. At Wake Forest, there are massive uses of listservs; a way to email people in which everyone in a specified group receive the email. I feel using a listserv is more preferable to wikis for two main reasons. First, using a wiki requires a user to sign up for yet ANOTHER online service to remember more passwords and user names. With a listserv, you just use your email account and email a listserv account. Second, once information is edited on a wiki, the information sent out previously is lost. With listservs, even as new information is input, old information can be saved dependent on the user. Therefore, for those reasons, I feel using a wiki is not useful at all when compared to using a listserv.

By: Craig Boyd

Craig Boyd — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:25:33 +0000

I think the Wikis are cool, I was familiar with them but hadn’t used them. I don’t really foresee myself in too many positions where they would be too helpful. The RSS feed, on the other hand, is something that I use heavily. It enables me to track many of my favorite blogs and organizes them in a way that’s easy to cover all the sites but without having to click their links only to see they haven’t updated. A big time saver for sure.

By: Kristie Neeser

Kristie Neeser — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:32:02 +0000

The video on Wikis really made me think about my organizational strategies, especially concerning email. I tend to send quite a few daily to friends, classmates, and co-workers, and while I try to group all the emails I receive into folders and sub-folders, certain ones just become general dumping areas. I often have to use the search feature to find specific messages I need. Especially for work, where I’m a function as part of a team, a Wiki would be a wonderful tool for arranging and editing projects. One question I have, though, is if some Wikis have a track changes option to follow who made what alterations when.

By: Erik Risendal

Erik Risendal — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:50:48 +0000

I watched the first video on Wikis and I had a number of reactions. At first, I was a little hesitant to be as enthusiastic as the narrator of the YouTube video. For one, I thought about issues of privacy. Considering the fact that Wikis are general websites that can be accessed by the public (at least to my knowledge), they don’t offer the security and privacy that email might afford. At the same time, including multiple email addresses on the email ensures that email isn’t scattered in a variety of email inboxes but in everyone’s email inbox. In this case, I felt that the narrator wasn’t being completely honest about the advantages and disadvantages of a Wiki versus email.
That being the case, I also realized the main point of the video was not to debate whether email is an appropriate source for the spread of information, but instead, it focused on demonstrating the tremendous opportunities available through Wikis. In this, I certainly agree! As Wikipedia has proven consistently, by allowing users an easy-to-use and open forum, Wikis offer unprecedented opportunities to publish thoughts and ideas, and even use the internet for things as simple as day-to-day activities. This can be incredibly helpful and advantageous to even the most basic user!
In fact, by giving the power to the user, Wikis offer diversity to how we use the internet and in terms of what we can find; and, while Wikipedia is a great resource, this video was also incredibly effective in showing that Wikis can be used differently for every user! As a result, this video has demonstrated to me that Wikis can be far more useful than the average layperson, or I, probably ever thought.

By: Andrew Petrilli

Andrew Petrilli — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:11:34 +0000

I watched both of the videos, and I think Wikis would be very useful for me in academic, work, and social settings. I had no idea what a Wiki was before this class, and after watching the video, I realized what a powerful organizational tool Wikis are. Many of my friends live in different parts of the country, and using a Wiki would be a great way to share information with them. Wikis also seem like they might help with group projects for classes at Wake. Everyone could access and edit the same information without having to clog everyone’s email inbox! My only concern about using a Wiki is how secure the information on it would be. How can I monitor who is accessing my information? If they are completely secure, then I think Wikis will continue to grow in popularity and usefulness.