Blogs vs. Wikis

Blogs and wikis are different yet similar. Blogs allow people to comment and give their opinions about just about anything. Pretty much anything goes and there are little if any restrictions to what someone can say about a given topic. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia. "Facts" are given about a given topic and is widely seen for who ever is looking for it. Collaborators create wikis but it is not a place for individual opinions considered an encyclopedia should be comprised of general knowledge and universally known facts if researched in other areas. These two methods of sharing ideas are similar due to just that, they share information. They are both created by the public and are able to be changed. Blogs are a place for opinion and wikis are a place for "facts" yet both are collaborations of internet users worldwide. Convergence is extremely important in today's networked world. Blogs are used as a way to inform people of everything imaginable. As exclaimed in the New York Time's article "Wal-Mart Tastemakers Write Unfiltered Blog", Wal-Mart says the Web site helps buyers solicit quick feedback from consumers on the merchandise — and shows a softer side of the giant company, which has 5,000 stores, 1.2 million workers and annual sales of nearly $400 billion.Blogs are crucial to businesses. They rely on consumer reports and opinions in order to expand and heighten sales as well as evaluate products. Without consumer feedback companies would be in the dark as to what will maximize profits. 
Blogs can be used for collaboration as shown in the article "Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid". Bloggers in a local Brooklyn community attracted attention as they all commented on specific things they had seen going around the neighborhood. Through this blog they were able to get these people arrested for criminal activities. Blogs can help save lives and offer a support network for many people. A new use for wiki could be the ability to post videos on them.