Blogs & Wikis for
Internal Communication

Nancy Hallberg, ID&D, Penn State World Campus

Robin Smail, ID&D, Penn State World Campus

Nikki Massaro Kauffman, I-Tech, University Libraries

Introduction

(or, "Why Can't We Just Use Email?")

• Email can't be retracted.
• Email can get lost.
• Bad to save it all and to trash it all.
• Bad for discussions—Reply All or Nothing.
• Email is not private.
• It's a problem merging edits from attachments.
• The more you prefer email, the more likely you are misusing it.
  

Best and Worst Uses of Email

Examples of Worst Uses...

So How Should We Communicate?

"[The World Wide Web would be] an information space through which people can communicate, but communicate in a special way: communicate by sharing their knowledge in a pool. The idea was not just that it would be a big browsing medium. The idea was that everybody would be putting their ideas in, as well as taking them out."

— Tim Berners-Lee

Blogs

• Types of Blogs
• Best and Worst Uses of Blogs
• Potential Uses for Blogs
• Blogging Tips

Types of Blogs

• Traditional Blogs for longer journal-style entries.
  • Moveable Type - used here for Blogs @ Penn State
  • Blogger - free hosted Google blog
  • Live Journal - hosted Weblog great for writers, or bloggers who want granular permissions on a Web space
  • WordPress - another hosted Weblog
• Microblogs are emerging: Twitter, Jaiku, and Pownce (covered later)
  

Best and Worst Uses of Blogs

Potential Applications for Blogs

• Announcements of changes in workflow, software, etc. (Examples: 1, 2)
• Professional Development sharing tips, training opportunities, conferences, current articles and research. (Examples: 1, 2)
• Workplace Socialization that would otherwise fill an inbox, like recipe exchanges, charity events, social gatherings, etc. (Examples: 1, 2)
  

Blogging Tips

• Use categories, tags or separate blogs to identify different subject areas. (Example)
• Link back to older posts if you reference them.
• Write posts with most important info first.
• Consider reposting and/or linking to a buried post.
• Encourage honest and open voices while having clear department policy.

Blogging Tips

• Blogs are a community! Read, comment, reference, and trackback! (Examples: 1, 2)
• Use an RSS aggregator. Consider how your posts will be aggregated. (Examples: 1, 2)
• Remove "hello world", "testing", "what do I do now" posts.
• Identify yourself/department by name, blurb, or about page.
  

Microblogging

1. What is a microblog?
   1. Brief posts (140 characters) to websites.
2. Why microblog?
   1. It's both immediate and portable.

Microblogging

Types of Microblogs

• Twitter, most popular
• Jaiku, another major microblog
• Pownce, Kevin Rose's (Digg) microblog
• Similar to MySpace's, Facebook's status updates
  

Microblogging

• Types of Microblogging
• Best and Worst Uses of Microblogs
• Potential Applications for Microblogs
• Microblogging Tips

Best and Worst Uses of Microblogs

Potential Applications for Microblogs

• Real-time tracking of events (e.g., San Diego fires, campus lockdowns, student arrest in Egypt)
• Create conference notes, discussions (e.g., #tltsymposium2008, #psuweb08 at www.hashtags.org)
• Poll the community as a resource (e.g., camera recommendations, mechanics, 3rd party Twitter apps)
• Incorporate format into instructional technology (e.g., Jim Groom's Twourse Design)
• Announce of New Resources (as URLs)

Potential Applications for Microblogs

• Provide responsive customer service (e.g.,@comcastcares @jetblue @hrblock @zappos)
• Datamine customers for product likes and dislikes (e.g., Dell, Panasonic, Hormel)
• Explore community mashups at Twitter Fan Wiki (e.g., twittermap, twitscoop, twistori)
• Decrease "Virtual Distance" (e.g.TweetMeets, Twittervision)

Microblog Tips

1. Use TinyURL, Snurl, Flickr, and TwitPic.
2. Blog it and share the URL.
3. Don't tweet 4 or 5 blocks in a row.
4. Your tweets are not private.
5. Temporarily unfollow something if you must.
6. Try 3rd party apps like Twhirl, Twitterific, or Twitbin.

Wikis

• Types of Wikis
• Best and Worst Uses of Wikis
• Potential Applications for Wikis
• Wiki Tips

Types of Wikis

• Purchased Solutions, such as Confluence, used here at PSU (Example)
• Open Source Solutions, like MediaWiki, of Wikipedia fame, or DokuWiki, designed for documentation
• Hosted Solutions, such as Wet Paint or PBWiki
  

Best and Worst Uses of Wikis

Potential Applications for Wikis

• New employee orientation. (Example)
• Internal knowledgebase. (Example)
• Project management. (Example)
• Collaborative authoring. (Example)
• Workplace socialization. (Example)

Wiki Tips

1. Err on the side of open access.
2. Don't be worried about someone editing your work.
3. Don't release an empty wiki.
4. If your wiki has a search tool, use it.
5. Nothing on a wiki is missing or wrong; you just haven't contributed to it yet.
6. Keep a newbies link on the wiki start page.
7. Teach them, but ask them to add it to the wiki.
   

Conclusion...

One Topic; Many Tools...

You Don't Have to Stick With One Tool Exclusively!

1. Paste a public email discussion to the blog.
2. Copy a buried blog post to a wiki.
3. Announce important new wiki resources via email or blog.
4. Tweet the TinyURL of your blog post or new wiki resource.
   

Tips for Getting Buy-In

1. Understand why your department's culture resists collaboration and take steps to change this.
2. Consider getting a pilot group of evangelists (5% of the population).
3. Better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.
4. Put it on the blog or wiki and then email the URL.
5. Copy an important mass email to the blog or wiki.
6. Don't tell them what they need to know; tell them where to find it.

Final Thoughts: Your Words in Writing

1. Proofread for tone.
2. Avoid using ALL CAPS!
3. Use the same courtesies as in a letter.
4. Admit your own mistakes. Call attention to others' mistakes indirectly.
5. Avoid negativity.
6. Use drafts folder/unpublished mode to sleep on it!
   

Booklist

For more information...

• See our Blogs and Wiki for Internal Communication wiki on Penn State WikiSpaces for our Booklist and Related Links: https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/blogswikis
• Buy one of our recommended books at the conference today:
  • Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most of Blogs, Wikis and Other Collaborative Tools
  • Wikis: Tools for Information, Work and Collaboration
  • The Culture of Collaboration