A version of this article appeared in the April 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review.
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on making the most of company wikis
Wikis harness the wisdom of crowds, serving as virtual commons where participants can wrestle over ideas and information until something approaching consensus—or the truth—emerges. The online encyclopedia Wikipedia is certainly the best known wiki, but it is hardly alone. Thousands of organizations, from Microsoft to the FBI, use wikis to aggregate the knowledge of their […]
Summary.
Reprint: F0804G
The founder of Wikipedia analyzes why wikis are becoming popular tools for sharing knowledge in the workplace. He encourages managers to provide institutional support for these highly practical forums but to be judicious about direct participation.