Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
June/July 2012
| Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter June/July 2012 |
Wiki is the best way to do collaborative work. The writers use the same tools, and read the same page at the same time. Every writer can see what the other writers are doing. Developers write comments, but sometimes other writers redo everything.
This is a concept with a dynamic flow of information. It has systematic maintenance, and equal access for all writers. Wiki notify writers when other developers publish new information. It has the ability to pull content from other sources. This is a good website for technological documentation. Also, it provides documentation for people who are not into writing books.
It is simple to use, and it lend itself to copy and paste. Most Wikis have a word interface that is formatted with icons. The advantage is that the information is searchable.
This organization works well with the open access environment, because it has an active community of writers who are passionate about the information. The website is free, and it has more than a million pages.
This is not a big money making business. It has a small organization and is the victim of spammer attacks. Wiki will never replace books. It has the ability to publish information quickly, but this does not mean the information is always tested or factual. Sometimes pages are abandoned rather than rewritten or deleted. Complex tables have limitations, and it does not lend itself to intricate formatting.
It has issues tracking information. There is no set structure. Confluence is a problem, for that reason it is not good with content that crosses boundaries.
John Freeman states "I graduated from California State University, Dominguez Hills as a Technical Writer, and I was a school teacher. I am looking for work, but since it is difficult for a new graduate to find employment, I seek a volunteer/internship position."