A wiki is more than just software for enabling
multiple people to edit Web sites. It is a metaphor
for a new era of collaboration and participation.
As the title suggests, this book is mainly about how to implement, use, and grow a wiki; but as the above quote makes clear, wiki technology is about more than just software; it’s first and foremost about collaboration. To truly appreciate the potential for wikis, and how they can change the way we interact and share knowledge, we need a good understanding of what we mean by collaboration.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary lists several definitions for the word collaboration; however it is the first listed, and most common usage, that is perhaps the most appropriate here.
col·lab·o·ra·tion \noun\
1: to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor.
Wikis are the epitome of a shared intellectual pursuit, as they promote a community of individuals who share an interest or a goal (sometimes both), and where sharing knowledge is central to achieving a desired result.
In his book Wikipatterns[Mader07], wiki evangelist Stewart Mader suggests that “There is a special magic that happens when people collaborate. Collaboration touches on our human nature in a way that is easily felt but not so easily explained.”
I am writing this introduction in my local coffee shop, and just as I finished typing the quote above, a Beatles tune started to play over the store’s sound system. Is there any greater example of the benefits of collaboration than the Fab Four? One of the things I came to realize several years ago while researching the book I wrote on the Beatles’ teenage years (Before They Were Beatles[Porter03]), was that while collaboration between a group of people can produce great results, collaboration between particular individuals can produce remarkable results.
The band that became The Beatles went through numerous line up changes in the first six years of its existence, growing from schoolboy band to the best rock-and-roll band in Liverpool. Yet it was only when Ringo Starr and producer George Martin were added to the existing mix of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, that they rocketed from local boys made good to an international phenomenon that changed a generation.
The ability and desire to collaborate is fundamental to the human condition. It was through working together that early humans developed into tribes of hunter-gatherers, and then built communities with shared dwellings and shared infrastructure. Without the drive to collaborate and learn from each other, we wouldn’t be the dominant species on this planet.
As Stewart Mader points out, collaboration is a part of human nature. He says that, “when groups work together to find the best way to get a job done, the high quality of work is sustainable because they’re finding the best about themselves, combining individual complimentary strengths and talents, and refining their methods at a very high level. Because they control how they work, people are more self-reflective, constructively critical of their own work, and motivated to make the best contribution possible because they take greater pride in the quality of their work.”
It could be argued that to some extent the benefits of collaboration were suppressed and lost during, and since, the days of the industrial revolution and the introduction of production-line processes. As people began to increasingly focus and specialize on their particular activity, they started to lose focus on the bigger picture and how what they did affected what others in their community did. The larger overall picture became the preserve of those in power.
The true business benefits of collaborative knowledge sharing, such as improved productivity, greater efficiency, reduced cross-functional boundaries, and better access to customer feedback, have often become lost to a perceived, and in many ways understandable, fear. In the modern workplace, we have traditionally been defined, both in terms of success and hierarchy, based on what we know. The old saying that knowledge is power has been true for a long time, but the first few years of the new century have changed that.
It used to be that once someone obtained knowledge and information, they would work hard to keep that to themselves. Being known as the “go-to guy” for answers on a particular subject was a vital part of securing your position within a hierarchical structure. But, the barriers to gaining and sharing knowledge have been broken down. Internet culture, especially the social networking phenomenon of the last few years, has made knowledge-sharing the accepted norm outside of the work environment.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection has immediate access to an unprecedented wealth of information. It is possible to get the answer to almost any question in seconds with just a simple search. We expect to be able to use that information, and we expect to be able to contribute to it. The modern paradigm is that reputations are built on the knowledge that you share freely and openly. Being the “go-to” guy is no longer about what you know, it’s about having the knowledge on how to apply that information.
In her book, The New How: Creating Business Solutions through Collaborative Strategy[Merchant10], corporate strategist Nilofer Merchant points out that “in 2010 there will be more ‘millennials’ than ‘baby boomers’ in the workforce. This new workforce will not only expect to be involved, but they will apply their talents only when they can be fully engaged.”
Yet, in many companies there remains a reluctance to transfer this social behavior and desire to participate into the work environment. It is becoming clear that the accumulation and management of knowledge is moving away from the control of a few select individuals and towards a model where knowledge is the by-product of whichever communities an individual belongs to. The digital generation will expect to participate in, and leverage, this model, and that expectation will ultimately drive change.
Companies that have already embraced the idea of community contribution, such as those discussed in this book’s case studies, are seeing the benefits and the increased efficiencies in the way they do business. Community-based solutions are a key element that these companies are using to build for future success.
A September, 2008, entry on the Google Docs Blog was titled, It’s about communication, not the tool. This is a sentiment I strongly agree with. However, the new age of communication also needs tools that allow collaborative communication—tools such as wikis.