WIKI: Grow Your Own for Fun and Profit

Table of Contents

1. Foreword
   1. The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem: You are Addicted to Software
   2. The Wonderful World of Wikis
2. Preface
   1. A Brief History of Collaboration
3. Introduction
   1. What Can You Expect from This Book?
   2. What is a Wiki and Why Should I Care?
   3. Why the Model of a Static Web is Flawed
   4. Aren’t Wikis Inaccurate?
   5. Where Do Wikis Fit with Web 2.0?
   6. Why Would You Need to Use a Wiki?
   7. Remembering the Alamo
      1. Planning – Team collaboration
      2. Collecting historical data – Open to contributions from outside experts
      3. Drafting and reviewing material
      4. Collecting document scans and images for exhibits
      5. Planning floor space
      6. Directory for team, county officials, local media
      7. Easy transfer of information to county website
      8. Supplementary information for event attendees
      9. A “playbook” to help organize next year’s event
      10. Allow year-round contributions of ideas rather than a short sprint.
      11. Fewer meetings and no email trials.
      12. Post-event marketing.
   8. Today’s Business Challenges
   9. Doing it Ourselves
4. Defining the Wiki
   1. What is a Wiki Anyway?
      1. Wiki markup
      2. Content management
      3. Navigation
   2. The Growth of Wikis
   3. What are Wikis Used For?
      1. For individuals
      2. Small groups
      3. Special interest groups
      4. Company internal
      5. Website replacement
      6. Large open groups
5. Planting The Seed – Think Before You Implement
   1. Building the Seed Team
   2. Seed Questions
      1. What business issue will the wiki resolve?
      2. How will you measure success?
      3. What is the expected return on investment?
      4. Where will the content come from?
      5. Who will use the wiki initially?
      6. Who will use the wiki in the future?
      7. Who will own the wiki?
      8. Where will the wiki be hosted?
      9. Which wiki should I use?
      10. What controls will I need?
   3. Why Use a Wiki?
      1. The good
      2. The bad
   4. Selecting the Right Wiki
6. Nurturing the Seedlings
   1. Finding the Initial Information for Your Wiki
   2. Selecting Information to Seed the Wiki
   3. Importing Information into the Wiki
   4. Wiki Markup
   5. Creating the Initial Navigation and Hierarchies
      1. How a new generation navigates
   6. Design for the Culture, not the Process
   7. Social Reinforcement
   8. Setting Expectations for Participation
7. First Growth
   1. Structure or Chaos?
   2. Wikis are Content-driven, not Layout-driven
   3. First Steps – Personal vs. Company Approach
   4. Sustaining Growth – Encourage, Don’t Mandate
   5. Don’t Let Go – Keep Reminding Them
8. Maintaining the Garden
   1. Identifying the Gardener
   2. The Gardener’s Tasks
   3. Scheduled Maintenance
      1. Daily
      2. Weekly
      3. Monthly
      4. Quarterly
   4. Developing a Sense of Ownership
9. Landscaping
   1. When to Start Landscaping
   2. Recognizing and Exploiting Wikipatterns
   3. Ownership and Control
   4. Reorganizing Content
   5. Redesign is Inevitable – Be Prepared
10. Organic Growth
    1. Cross-Fertilization
    2. Single Login
    3. Cross Linking
    4. Community Gardening
    5. Building Community
       1. Points systems
       2. MVP programs
       3. Spotlight articles
    6. Reaching Critical Mass
11. Harvesting the Information
    1. User-Generated Content
    2. The Myth of Inaccuracy
    3. Defining User-Generated Content.
    4. Managing the New Content
    5. Managing Content Ownership
    6. Incorporating Feedback
    7. Publishing to the Wiki from Other Sources
    8. Round-Tripping
    9. Publishing from a Wiki
12. A Cornucopia of Content
    1. Ongoing Maintenance
       1. Archival
       2. Periodic
       3. Continuous
    2. So What About the “Fun & Profit”?
    3. A Final Stroll Around the Garden
13. Case Study 1
    1. The WebWorks Wikis
       1. Inner wiki
       2. Help Center wiki
       3. Conference wiki
       4. Services wiki
       5. Documentation wiki
14. Case Study 2
15. Case Study 3
16. Case Study 4
17. Case Study 5
18. Appendix A
    1. 1. What Business Issue Will the Wiki Resolve?
    2. 2. How Will You Measure Success?
    3. 3. What is the Expected Return on Investment?
    4. 4. Where Will the Content Come From?
    5. 5. Who Will Use the Wiki Initially?
    6. 6. Who Will Use the Wiki in the Future?
    7. 7. Who Will Own the Wiki?
    8. 8. Where Will the Wiki be Hosted?
    9. 9. Which Wiki Should I Use?
    10. 10. What Controls Will I Need?
19. Appendix B
    1. Cultural Barriers
       1. We tried one once and no one used it
       2. The cost/benefit ratio is too high
       3. I’m too busy doing actual work to try anything new
       4. It’s overwhelming, and I don’t know where to start
       5. If my management doesn’t care, why should I?
       6. It won’t be accurate
       7. I prefer meetings
    2. Technical Barriers
       1. I need to learn a markup language
       2. Search doesn’t work
       3. It’s a black hole
       4. It isn’t like (name your favorite application here)
       5. It’s a security nightmare
20. Appendix C
    1. Control
    2. Vandalism
    3. Devalued Content
21. Appendix D
    1. Confluence
    2. DokuWiki
    3. MediaWiki
    4. MindTouch
    5. MoinMoin
    6. MyWiki
    7. PBworks
    8. ProjectForum
    9. TiddlyWiki
    10. TikiWIki
    11. Trac
22. Resources
23. Acknowledgments
24. Index
25. Copyright and Legal Notices