There is only so much a blog can do. The blog platform is great but it is not really structured, especially if you want to write something in a book format with table of contents, chapters and index. Blogs have categories, I know, but it is not the same.The authors of Medgadget blog are not entirely sure how they are going to use the newly-launched Medtech Wiki but they would like to have "a nice "base" layer of reference articles on basic medgadgets."
Wikis can be very useful and popular. Almost any search brings a Wikipedia link on the first page of Google results nowadays.
Wikis are a typical example of a social website though, which means that the website is just as good as the people that contribute to it and their desire to expand and correct it. There is also a critical mass of users that are needed maintain a credible and current wiki. For Wikipedia, this mass consists of about 1,000 administrators-volunteers. Millions contribute but these 1,000 people are the "backbone" of the world's largest online encyclopedia.
Medgadget blog has been a great resource for anything new in medical technology. I remember searching for the newly-approved EpiFlo device a few months ago and Medgadget was right there on Google's first page with a nicely-written post about it. The website has already had more than one million visitors. I hope that their new project will be even more successful.
References:
Medgadget Launches Medtech Wiki
Which Wiki is Right for You? School Library Journal, 5/1/2007.
Image source: Medgadget
I really enjoy the whole concept of a "wiki" and I can see a huge potential benifit for those of us interested in medical technology. I look forward to further news regarding this.
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