"Wiki-Wiki-Wiki....!"

No, I am not quoting a line from "Jam on It", a bad early 90s song! I'm talking wikis, ya'll(wikipedia, pbwiki, wetpaint, wikiseek, etc.)

But, remarkably, just as the song lyrics say, we have all been sayin' "Wiki- Wiki-Wiki..." for a while now as we use this tool to make our searching life easier in the library, or... we say it as we scold teens for doing a bit too much cutting-and-pasting from it! Ahh, the internet.

But Wikis can be invaluable tools. Here in the Riverfront Library we keeps lists of direct links to non-oft-visited websites that have great -- albeit Impossible to Find-- information, as well as lists of local agency phone numbers and extensions that are hard to come by.

It is a collaborative tool and a content manager that is easily accessible by everyone with the password to get onto it, since our wiki is indeed password protected.

And the first time I ventured onto the wiki comparison site, wikimatrix.org, I was blown away by the sheer breadth and types of available wikis, apart from WikiPedia.org.
I think Wikis will continue to be valuable tools as long as we don't abuse their content and the rights of the people whose content often gets posted on it.

Cue "Jam on It"....it's time to Wiki...Wiki..Wiki....!

Wikiseek

If you want some fast and dirty info on something and need your WIKIPEDIA fix, check out WIKISEEK.COM, the new search engine that searches only WIKIPEDIA entries and the sites to which those entries link. It eliminates searching through spam and ads and sites that are not sufficiently info-packed and link-packed like Wikipedia.

Google Maps MashUps

If you got the April 2007 WIRED Magazine, you probably saw their MashUps column. If not, here are some to check out:

PediaX: flyover Earth and read the Wikipedia entry about the locations you see at en.pediax.org

Fast Food Maps: Pick any big City & find French Fries Fast at www.fastfoodmaps.com

Global Flood Maps: So, will you have beach-front property one day? Check and see at flood.firetree.net