10.2. So What About the “Fun & Profit”?

The title of this book is WIKI: Grow Your Own for Fun & Profit. So what about the fun and profit? Over the preceding chapters I hope that I have helped explain the many ways that a wiki can be used to the benefit of companies, individuals, and above all communities with a shared interest or goal.

Being part of a community that delivers tangible benefits and opens up lines of communication can be a fun experience. In general, I have found that once you get involved in knowledge sharing, it becomes an activity that you look forward to, and that enables you to develop a wider appreciation for what others do. As a friend of mine recently observed, “technically, it’s not the collaborative technology that rocks. It’s the people using it who rock.”

I asked several wiki users what aspects of using a wiki they considered to be fun. Here’s a sample of their responses:

  • Being part of a team / community
  • Sharing your knowledge
  • Helping solve problems
  • Learning new stuff
  • Learning about your colleagues
  • Finding out what happens in other parts of the organization
  • Knowing where you fit in the big picture
  • Feeling that what you have to offer has value

The word profit in the book’s title doesn’t relate to monetizing the wiki itself (although in certain circumstances that might be an option), but is more an indication of how the various efficiencies and changes in procedure and behavior discussed in the earlier chapters can have a positive impact on an organization’s bottom line.

For instance, increased efficiencies can result in significant cost savings:

  • Less email traffic means less productive time lost to your inbox
  • Wiki collaboration means fewer meetings and less time lost
  • Fewer meetings can reduce travel costs
  • With project or company information located in one central resource, less time is lost locating information
  • Less information is “lost,” so less time and money are spent recreating lost information
  • Greater visibility across your organization can reduce duplication of effort

Companies that use wikis to share information and connect with their customers can see significant reductions in support costs.[1]

This is primarily due to two factors:

  • Information is easier to find
  • Customers become self-sufficient

Improved communication with customers, especially in a community environment, can generate opportunities to increase revenue. According to LaSandra Brill, Senior Manager, Social Media Marketing, Cisco Systems, during 2009, companies that engaged in community-driven conversations with their customers saw revenues increase by just under 20%. (Cisco and the Social Web)


[1] In my personal experience, I have seen as much as a 50% reduction.