Sports Wikis: Who's on First? by Lark Birdsong, Birdsong Research, Searcher (June 2007)
There is much to be learned from wikis that have been created as a way of sharing and developing content - but it does require patience. Lark Birdsong had that patience in compiling this guide to wikis that have content on sports - the teams, members, product, experience. It's a good tour that shows the variety and application of the wiki collection.
"Wikis in sports currently discuss members of a team, share ideas, educate the world about the game, soft sell a product or team, and serve as a soapbox for contributors to the wiki. In this article the term “sport” refers to the broader context, including activities that require physical ability, fitness, skill, and some type of physical movement that usually, but not always, involves some competition between two or more people. In addition, the term incorporates people or events that revolve around or happen because of sports, such as fans, parents, alumni, equipment, weather, sports behaviors, big business, etc."
Key point about using most wikis - "As with most wikis, it requires some tolerance, inquisitiveness, and openness to use sports wikis productively. Content can be chaotic, and any authority needs to be reviewed depending on your goals for using a sport wiki. The wikis I reviewed that made it to first base did so by having some common features. These wikis had some control of content through registration, guidelines, monitoring, and purpose. They carried current information with frequent content additions. They were easy to follow with layouts that easily allowed users to get to the information they wanted."
Posted by Gwen at June 1, 2007 03:20 PM