tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post1806685175199676776..comments2024-03-07T23:20:49.790-07:00Comments on Genealogy's Star: How does a wiki work?James Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-22607799554113295362011-03-09T06:34:02.353-07:002011-03-09T06:34:02.353-07:00Hi James,
Great post. Community is absolutely ess...Hi James,<br /><br />Great post. Community is absolutely essential to the success of a wiki. This is a lesson I've had to learn through years of experience. Twice.<br /><br />When I started WikiAnswers in 2002, I figured that the answers would come from individuals who came along and wanted to ask one question, and then to pay it forward they'd answer somebody else's question. I was totally wrong. It took me years to figure out that the bulk of the answers and improvements would come from a small community of active users. They're the ones who take the time to learn the language and culture, like you say. They're the ones that go native. Now there are almost 12 million answers on the site.<br /><br />When I started WikiTree.com in 2008 I made a parallel mistake. I figured that, again, this was different from other wikis. The communities would be families. They would grow their family history together, each adding a couple or a couple dozen profiles to the family tree.<br /><br />As you would know, but I didn't, the chasm between casual family historians and serious genealogists is vast. The first couple years we were tailoring WikiTree to the casual historians and growing by a few thousand profiles a month. Since we started getting more in touch with serious genealogists we've been growing by about 100,000 profiles a month. That's largely to the credit of a small group of genealogists who have taken the time to learn the language and culture.<br /><br />You point out that the wiki culture is somewhat defined by its structure. My mistake was taking that way too far. I missed the "somewhat" part, and I didn't realize that the basic wiki rules are universal to the wiki model. I assumed that because WikiAnswers and WikiTree were structurally different from Wikipedia and all the other 'pedia-style wikis, the community aspect would be completely different.<br /><br />For anyone starting a wiki, e.g. for a surname project or a local history group, definitely remember that community is key. Even if the community is just two people. Nurture that core group.<br /><br />ChrisChris Whittenhttp://www.wikitree.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-53144428648261490592011-03-06T19:25:53.380-07:002011-03-06T19:25:53.380-07:00Hi James,
Great analogy. I'm one of the ones ...Hi James,<br />Great analogy. I'm one of the ones still finding my way about the FamilySearch wiki. I'll be following your posts on this topic.Joan Miller (Luxegen)http://www.luxegen.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-58070096884141410342011-03-06T12:32:07.907-07:002011-03-06T12:32:07.907-07:00I look forward to reading more about this topic.I look forward to reading more about this topic.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04658095220069137605noreply@blogger.com