Posted: April 4th, 2003 | No Comments »
I use this weblog to see if it is useful to build my own long-term knowledge base. Many out there are involved in the same “quest”. A very good example is Seb’s OpenMind. Seb uses a Wiki to build a system that inter-connects his thoughts.
In a macro vision, blogs are interesting when a they are part of a knowledge sharing network. Detailed information are decentralized and accessible via syndication while the most relevant information (i.e. the one which are linked the most) tend to be centralized. Google buying Pyra Labs is a sign that the information gathered in blogs communities could be transformed into something relevant to all web user.
I found a very interesting article mentionned in Michele’s blog. Personal knowledge publishing and its uses in research elabores in better words what I mention above. Section 3, “How weblogs foster quality” is the most interesting to me. Here are some quotes I will keep in this web-based “knowledge base”:
The answer is that quality emerges in weblogs largely as a result of the web of hyperlinks that is weaved by the community of editors
As people read others’ weblogs, they link selectively to the content that they find interesting. Content that has been referenced more often directly obtains more visibility. But this effect is amplified by search engines such as Google that rank web pages according to the number of pages that link to them.
Articles that are cited more often are more visible and are read more. This is useful in two respects: it encourages quality, and it makes it more likely that people will find the most relevant documents.
They carry to some extent the power to structure knowledge, a connection that is further explored from a critical humanist.
The other factor that helps quality emerge in weblogs is personal ownership. Although webloggers participate in a community, the contents of a weblog is not a communal space
quality content is found in weblogs in spite of the absence of centralized control because of the continuous post-publication review process and because good contributions can be published, read, and linked without being bundled alongside lesser quality content.
Nico, who uses his blog as a misceallenous repository for his research work, covers another aspect of the article. Why Using a Blog.
