Wikis

A great introduction to the ways that wikis can be used. I hadn't realised that they can be used to conduct group consultations etc. But can they be set to private or limited access? I will have to find out. I think there are great possibilities - but like anything on the web it's about finding the best stuff. I'm interested to find out more about the editing process for such things as wikipedia. I heard some statistic that wikipedia rated better for accuracy than some set of encyclopaedias - how can this be possible? (unless the encyclopaedia was dated) When a book is published, there are so many steps ( or you would hope there are so many steps!) to ensure the content is of high quality. First, the writer must research, complete multiple drafts, pitch the final draft to a publisher, then the publisher must accept the work, then give editorial feedback, before the book goes into draft stage again for yet more corrections. It seems that with wikis the process is diluted to. 1. write. 2. publish. Which surely would lead to much inaccuracy?

Uploading a photo

The ability to quickly upload a photo from either the web or the hard drive is a great way to keep a record of projects or to promote them to a wider audience. Again, in the example of the Corner Artsworkers blog, uploading photos has given the staff the capacity to share creative ideas with the rest of the team. For example, when a new craft activity is realised, a photo is often the best way to communicate the activity to the rest of the team. See the example included of Stella's garden gnomes.

First Session

In this introductory session, a gmail account and blog was set up. I have already got a gmail account and am familiar with blogs - primarily through the artsworker blog that the Corner staff contribute to here at State Library. This session was primarily administration rather than revelation - but I am still a great advocate of the blog when used well!
The Corner artsworker blog has been a great success - more so than I would have imagined. It is a fantastic way for the artists to articulate their ideas and make them available for discussion with their peers. Some fascinating discourse has occured through the form of the blog - I thought the blog would be too impersonal as a vehicle for serious discussion, but it has proved very effective - it's great for artists who are primarily practical in their work at Slq, to have the opportunity to reflect on and evaluate their work through the written word.