WikiMedia

The first project I looked at was MediaWiki.  This Wiki is designed specifically for volunteers who help develop the software that is behind all of the Wikimedia Wikis, as well as many other wikis around the world.  It seemed as though there was a lack of information on the Wiki. Since it is not meant to host discussions or anything of the such it was difficult to get a feel as to everything that goes on within the wiki.  One of the main goals of the project is to translate all of the Wikimedia wikis into as many languages as possible.  Software development seemed to be second on the priority list to translation. I chose to check this one out because the words, "software development" caught my eye.

The second project I looked at was Wikimedia Commons. This wiki is designed to host large amounts of data including text, photo, audio, etc... in order to educate.  The major categories are Nature, Science, Society, Images, Sounds, and Videos.  It is an awesome collection of material to say the least. You can also post maps from anytime in history, artwork, and pretty much anything else that is relevant.  I really think that the information in this wiki should be linked (where appropriate) with Wikipedia and other relevant wikis.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a classic example of how to implement something.  When the concept of a Wiki came onto the web, it was meant for discussions and archiving more than anything else.  But, Wikipedia showed the world the magnitude of the possible implications of using Wikis.  Only through the Internet could something like this be possible.  It really is amazing when you stop and just look at the big picture.  Look at what we are creating.

At first, editing the pages was a little uncomfortable.  I found myself simply copying the formatting already on the page to give the page some consistency.  The challenge came when I had to create my own page.  I then had to really knuckle down and dig a little deeper.  The word processing toolbar really isn't complicated and it is quite easy to use.  The only thing you have to get accustomed to is looking at your page in the text view as opposed to the formatted view that you see when you either preview or save the page.  Apart from that, it was simple and effective. 

It feels good to be contributing to this resource that I have utilized so much in my personal and professional life. Check out my profile on Wikipedia!