User:Jwalling

I gained an appreciation for the benefits of wikis in disaster communications by working on http://www.KatrinaHelp.info/ for the last several months.

I'm interested in ways to get people involved in the new wiki at http://ndars.wikia.com/ The target community are rescuers who saved thousands of animals stranded in recent hurricanes and tornadoes. Their main methods of communication are via forums, especially the new one at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDARS/ (Other forums are listed here http://ndars.wikia.com/wiki/Forums )

The forums are valuable tools for sharing information that needs immediate action and response. However, a lot of information is recycled redundantly or is lost to those who need it. A wiki can capture the forum information for future use and for introducing new participants to the evolving network of people and resources needed for effective response to new disasters.

I made a few attempts to get forum users involved in developing the wiki but they have not followed through. Somehow the wiki is not meeting their needs, either psychologically or functionally. I don't want to beat them over the heads with wiki hype.

Perhaps The Wealth of Networks will give me the insights I need to make the wiki relevant to forum denizens.