Wikis

I was very dubious about the possible benefits of wikis before starting this course and I still have many reservations, but I can see that they are a good medium for the exchange of ideas. I'm even thinking that a wiki might be the best way of sharing information and discussing issues within the West Midlands about a National Core Content group I'm a member of. The thing that worries me most is how easy it is in a public wiki for anyone to change things, so that you can never be sure how accurate they are. On the other hand if the wiki is made private a lot of the collaborative elements are lost and the administrator could take on the role of censor - only allowing certain individuals the right to edit content.

The wiki I've chosen to look at in more detail is:

Flu wiki
http://www.fluwikie.com/

This wiki was set up as a forum for individuals to exchange ideas on what should be done in the event of a flu pandemic. I thought it would be of interest to both those involved in health care, especially public health and general practice, as well as the general public. It aims to provide reliable information (as neutral as possible) and to look at solutions to the problems that will arise should there be a pandemic.

There is an enormous amount of information here. I liked the short list of FAQs which act as a sort of index to the site and to further information. I also liked the 'Exploring the Flu Wiki' section which explains all about wikis in general, plus giving TOC, index and glossary.

It's very easy to keep up-to-date with the latest flu news, which is organised by country and there are RSS feeds for the different pages.

The publisher and editors are very active on the site, so you feel that they would be quick to spot any vandalism. They respond to queries very quickly and it's right up-to-date.