Short video on how to edit a Wikipedia article

If you’re interested in knowing how to edit a Wikipedia article, there’s a short (3 min) video on the basics at: http://www.howcast.com/videos/317521-How-To-Edit-a-Wikipedia-Article.

[Link last checked May 2010]

Wikis for documentation and business

Some articles and a video on using wikis for documentation and business projects:

• Stewart Mader: 2 minute video on using wikis for documentation: http://www.ikiw.org/2009/06/22/video-how-to-build-revise-documentation-using-a-wiki/ (there’s LOTS more on wikis available from his Future Changes website: http://www.futurechanges.org/about/ — go to near the end of this page)
• Jeff Hobbs: How to use wikis for business projects: http://mashable.com/2009/07/01/wikis-business-projects/
• Ben Parr: A Small Business Guide to Wikis: http://mashable.com/2009/10/04/business-wikis-guide/
• Wiki While you Work (online book created with a wiki): http://www.customware.net/repository/display/wwyw/Home
• Wiki-fying Docs: Is Using Customer-Accessible Wikis for End-User Documentation Gaining Momentum? (from KeyContent.org)
• And of course, Sarah Maddox, one of the technical writers at Atlassian (makers of the Confluence wiki), has lots of information about using wikis for documentation on her blog: http://ffeathers.wordpress.com (BTW, Atlassian practice what they preach — all their user documentation is in a wiki.)

Update February 2011:

• 10 questions to ask before you start to implement a Wiki: http://xmlpress.net/publications/wiki-how-to-grow/checklist/

[Links last checked and updated February 2011]

Convert to/from various Wikis

Sarah Maddox, a technical writer at Atlassian (creators of the Confluence wiki) and a terrific person, had put together a great list of tools and plug-ins that convert from various document formats into various wikis, and from various wikis into various document formats. Her focus is mainly on tools for Confluence and Mediawiki.

It’s a terrific resource and you can find it on Sarah’s blog: http://ffeathers.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/getting-content-into-and-out-of-wikis/

[Links last checked September 2009]

Unofficial Author-it wiki

Hamish Blunck, a fellow Australian Author-it user, has set up an unofficial Author-it wiki where he and others are documenting Author-it tips and tricks, linking to some good stuff on the Author-it User Group, and generally providing an unofficial supplement to the official Author-it Help and Knowledge Centre.

You can access the wiki here: http://aitwiki.hamishblunck.com/tiki-index.php To post, edit, etc. you’ll need to register.

From Hamish’s original notification:

One of the strengths of the Author-it is the help and support that members of this list provide to each other. But it occurred to me a lot of this useful information is lost and buried in the mountain messages and not captured anywhere. I also thought that it would be useful to have a repository of this great information. I encourage you to add your tips and tricks, your how-to’s, or if you find a great post about Author-it on the web, link to it. Or if you ask a question on the list and you get a useful reply or solution, add it to the wiki.

Confluence Wiki for $5

Atlassian, the developers of the Confluence Wiki software and JIRA bug tracking software have a deal on at the moment where you can get a 5-user license for both products for just $5 each.

The deal finishes on April 24, 2009, and all proceeds of these sales go to a charity.

Get yours quick!

Details:

• http://www.atlassian.com/starter/ (the deal)
• http://blogs.atlassian.com/news/2009/04/confluence_and_3.html (more details about the deal)
• http://www.atlassian.com/starter/faq.jsp (FAQs about the deal)
• http://ffeathers.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/want-a-commercial-confluence-wiki-licence-for-just-5/ (blog post about the deal by Sarah Maddox, a technical writer at Atlassian)

Convert HTML and Word into Wiki markup

Thanks to some members of a technical writing list I’m on, I found out about some tools that convert HTML and Word to Wiki markup. I haven’t tried any of these yet, so I don’t know how ‘clean’ the end result is, but I offer them as possibilities if you’re looking for ways to do this.

• http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Word_macros (Word macros to MediaWiki)
• http://www.infpro.com/Word2MediaWiki.aspx (one of the Word macros mentioned in the link above)
• http://search.cpan.org/~diberri/HTML-WikiConverter-0.63/lib/HTML/WikiConverter.pm (HTML converter to various Wiki markups)
• http://goessner.net/articles/wiky/ (Wiky: A bidirectional markup converter — Wiki to HTML and HTML to Wiki)

Please add any other tools you’ve found via the Comments.

(Thanks to Wade C, Bill S, and Kathy T for these suggestions)

[Links last checked January 2010]

World’s largest “how to” manual

wikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com) is a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest how-to manual. The site currently contains over 18,000 articles written, edited, and maintained by volunteers—people like you!

Other online tutorials and ‘how to’ websites include:

• http://www.soyouwanna.com (anything and everything you wanted to know how to do; free)
• http://www.tutorialfind.com (lists free tutorials found all over the internet, on all sorts of subjects)
• http://www.findtutorials.com and http://www.tutorials.com (mostly IT tutorials; some free)
• http://www.ehow.com (15,000 step-by-step “how to” instructions)
• http://psdtuts.com/ Adobe Photoshop tutorials
• http://nettuts.com/ Web skill tutorials
• http://communityclips.officelabs.com/ Microsoft Office help videos
• http://www.fixya.com (manuals and help for all sorts of products)
• http://www.instructables.com (‘how to’s for a wide range of categories)
• http://the-manuals.com/ (free manuals for all sorts of things — cars, software, electronics; however, be warned: some are graphic and not suitable for children)
• http://www.manualsonline.com/ (Supposedly 300,000 manuals for electronic devices etc. However, the few random brands and models I tried didn’t have the manual listed. So it may not be as good as it appears to be.)
• http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/categories.php Technical information for sustainable living
• And don’t forget YouTube! It’s not just for videos of teenagers doing silly things. Search for the skill area you want to know about, and there’s bound to be a video someone’s made of it. Some are good, some are bad.

[This article is a combination of several first published in the CyberText Newsletter; links last checked November 2009; updated November 2009]

Want more people to contribute to your Wiki?

If you’ve built it but wonder when they’ll come, then take a look at WikiPatterns (http://www.wikipatterns.com/). Wikipatterns.com is a toolbox of behavior ‘patterns and anti-patterns’, and a guide to the stages of wiki adoption.

Applying patterns that help coordinate people’s efforts and guide the growth of content, and recognizing anti-patterns that might hinder growth – can give your wiki the greatest chance of success.

Most entries describe what the pattern is, how it’s used, give examples, and offer solutions (for anti-patterns).

The site is a wiki in itself so contributions are welcome to expand the body of knowledge.

[Links last checked February 2008]

Compare software systems

If you’re in the market for certain types of software, then a matrix that compares most, if not all, the available applications should be your first port of call.

Here are some examples:

• Help Authoring Tool (HAT): http://hat-matrix.com/
• Content Management System (CMS): http://cmsmatrix.org/
• Wiki: http://www.wikimatrix.org/

[Sites last checked December 2007]

Wiki ‘suicide missions’

I’m currently reading Wiki for Dummies, and came across this delightful piece in Part III, Chapter 9:

Don’t go on wiki suicide missions

Wikis don’t have magical powers. They cannot create camaraderie where none exists, nor can they streamline an out-of-control operation. They are not powerful information magnets, nor will they make your team better writers, more organized, or more intelligent. In short, without a strong guiding hand, wikis are useless.

Wikis cannot promise instant returns or unbelievable creativity. Wikis allow users to quickly and easily update and upload information. Wikis are no substitute for holding a meeting, contacting your team members, or doing hard work yourself.

I couldn’t have said it better myself!