wikispaces vs. pbwiki

I have used pbwiki very minimally in the past, but this week's assignment really helped me to feel more confident with it! Previously I had added content to someone else's wiki using the service (in this class, in the 23 Things program, and at work), but creating a wiki, along with my colleague, was really empowering. I found that pbwiki was as easy to use as any word processing program.

I thought that wikispaces seemed just as easy to use at first. And I really liked the sleek interface and pop-up windows. Also, it seemed even easier to add an image to a page in wikispaces than in pbwiki. However, I really got tripped up when I tried to insert a piece of code from Goodreads into my wikispaces wiki. I'd done this on my pbwiki page, so it shouldn't have been a problem, but nothing I tried worked and the help page was not particularly helpful. I think I'll be sticking with pbwiki. After all, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

If you're interested, here's my extremely minimal wikispace wiki: http://rtscils598s09.wikispaces.com/.

LibGuides

LibGuides is a "web 2.0 content management system" for libraries that is totally new to me; I've never even heard of it, much less actually visited the site and poked around.

It's basically a way of creating library Web sites that can have loads of features, both in the interface and the back end. It allows libraries to create dynamic Web sites that take advantage of 2.0 tools like blogs and social bookmarking sites (it even has a partnership with Delicious) and integrate those tools seamlessly into the Web site. This allows libraries to increase their resource sharing capabilities, among other things, which benefits librarians and patrons alike.

Thing 17: A Few of My Favorite Things

Editing the CTLS 23 Things Sandbox was surprisingly easy! I'm not sure why I found it surprising, since I've heard several times that PB Wiki is easy to use. I have to admit, though, that in general I find editing wikis to be very intimidating. I have never edited Wikipedia, despite how often I use it and the fact that I have found mistakes before. I can't really put my finger on why...I just do. I'm even more intimidated by the idea of creating a wiki from scratch. At least when editing, there's a template in place and I just have to follow it. I'll have to add conquering this fear to my list of resolutions for 2009.

You can check out my additions to the Sandbox on the Favorite Library Blogs and Favorite What Have You pages.

Thing 16: Wiki Wiki Waa

Sometimes I try to remember what my life was like before Wikipedia and I can barely recall. I feel the same way about Google, Amazon, and IMDB. Remember when you used to recognize someone in a movie, but you couldn't think of what you'd seen them in before and you wracked your brain for days? Clearly, I digress. On to the topic at hand: library wikis.

I browsed several of the wikis suggested on the 23 Things blog and I have to say, I am extremely impressed with the ALA Annual 2008 Wiki. What an amazing resource for anyone attending the annual conference, but especially for first-time attendees! The 2009 one still needs a lot of work, but I have no doubt it will get there.