What I Learned about wikis

I was surprised at the variety of wikis! I had seen some, but most of them were similiar to Wikipedia or the New Library wiki that was set up when we were working on building a new library. I wish that I had thought about using a wiki when I was gathering information for my grant. It would have been a great resource for getting teen input. The downside would be that I would have no way of knowing that they were teens. It would be difficult to assure that the age they put down, would always be their true age. I thought that the ALA wiki was cool! Could you access it from other resources than your computer, ie. your cell phone, your planner, your PSP? Too many people would have limited access otherwise. Plus, who wants more print-outs, if you can carry it with you digitally? There would still be people that are technologically challenged (or too broke to have all the GOOD toys), but since ALA always has had a computer cafe with a printer, that would be a minimal problem. I really liked the Introduction and the Join the Community sections of the Library Success wiki. It was written in a friendly, but informational tone. I liked when they said, "While I am not going to require that people register on the wiki, it would be great if you did. It makes it easier for us to identify spam and it makes the wiki much more like a community if we can get to know each other a little." It clarified without sounding bossy. Like I said, friendly!