Ch. 27: Blogs, Wikis, and Social Networks

• Differentiate between internal and external audiences
• Internal audiences don't require as much explanation as external audiences
• Internal audiences will want straightforward content
• External audiences may know little about the topic and require more information
• Understand how to write for blogs and wikis
• Blogs
• Internal blogs are an alternative to emails in the workplace
• They are useful for collaborating and solving problems- using a forum to discuss solutions
• External blogs are useful for getting customer feedback and enhancing marketing and PR
• Wikis
• Internal wikis provide employees with information about a project or topic and allows them to update the content
• External wikis allow people to use and update content specific to their expertise
• Write differently for internal and external audiences
• Pay attention to your tone
• Check entries for credibility 
• Recognize different types of social networks
• Connecting people to each other and sites of mutual interests
• Facebook
• MySpace
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Flickr
• Understand uses of social networks for workplace communication
• Can be used for
• Outreach and marketing campaigns
• Measuring customer behavior
• Be friendly, but professional
• Stay focused
• Be discreet
• Consider the legal and ethical implications of these media
• Online media provides opportunities for information abuse
• Beware of stealth marketing and paid-for product reviews
• Follow the policies within a company that govern social networks
• Understand how these media are changing the ways we work and learn
• This class is an example of how learning is changing in that we are required to write a blog for each chapter.