Blogs vs. Wikis

     Both blogs and wikis are used as methods of collaboration and communication among groups of people. The main difference between the two is that blogs are more useful in communicating information to a group of people, while wikis are more useful for collaborating with a group of people who can edit the information in the posts as changes are made.
     A blog is a form of media in which the author can share information with a large group of readers, and those readers can then add onto that information through commenting on it, without changing the original information. For example, Michael Wilson described one instance in which a blog was able to bring people together to share information and eventually resulted in a drug raid in the bloggers' neighborhood. This neighborhood in Brooklyn was able to gather enough information to get the owners of a crack house in their neighborhood arrested. This is a good example of people collaborating trough a blog. People can also collaborate by linking other blogs to one blog and creating a blogroll. By linking information together, people can communicate more information in a simple way.
     A wiki is another form of media, which, unlike a blog, allows users to edit the information in the original post. Wikis are very useful within large companies, where many people have to work together on a project. It is convenient because everyone in the group has access to the post and can add their part while keeping all of the information together on one page. Noam Cohen describes an organization that depends on Diplopedia, a wiki site, to gather information on various political figures that they must prepare to meet with. The site has greatly increased the ease in which they can all find information and collaborate to keep it up to date.

Works cited
Cohen, Noam. "An Internal Wiki That's Not Classified." The New York Times. The New York Times, 3 Aug. 2008. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/business/media/04link.html?_r=0>.
Wilson, Michael. "Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead To Drug Raid." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 June 2008. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26bayridge.html>.

Project Description

Smartphones: A Blessing or a Curse

As of 2013, about 65 percent of Americans own a smartphone. It seems so great that people can stay connected to everyone all the time no matter where they are or what they’re doing. But there is a down side to all of this: stress. There’s something relieving about disconnecting from life for a while, and people these days seem to forget what that’s like. In my project I’m going to talk about how there are some negative effects of everyone having a smartphone and how human beings can have trouble handling the rapid advancement of technology.