Why is it important to know this? How can it help you if you know why a wiki project may fail?

User generated content is not a good-to-have kind of thing anymore. I believe that in future, user-generated-content would be the primary method of information collection regardless of the purpose. And all of us are going to be responsible for at least one such project. It could be product documentation, a community website or a social cause. Wiki is here to stay and spread.

And wiki is not limited to just articles kind of content. There are several other forms it can take, several other names it can take but they all have the same underlying concept. Information that anyone can edit.

So, let’s start…

In the past, I have equated Wikipedia’s methodology to generate content to that of a Potter. Spin the wheel in the form of creating a movement. Put some effort so that the lump of clay starts rising from the wheel. This is the seed content that requires major push and a long time. Then gradually and subtly, give it the shape you want. This is what’s happening at Wikipedia today. People are contributing on their own and the Wikipedia team is only guiding their contribution.

We can use this analogy to understand why many wiki projects fail. Let’s look at them one by one.

1. Failure to spin the wheel. A spinning wheel is a must for producing pots. Similarly, a movement among people to contribute is a must for producing wiki content. Wikipedia has that movement around itself. People are willing to contribute for its cause. And even though the percentage of real contributors is less, the sheer number to which Wikipedia reaches is astounding. So, that small percentage also becomes a big number.

   However, all wiki projects do not take that trajectory. Most of the wiki projects fail to generate the initial momentum. The wheel just doesn’t spin for them. Survey a couple of wiki sites and you’ll know what I mean.

   Even for Wikipedia, the success has been BIG but not complete. Some areas in Wikipedia are well developed while some other areas are underdeveloped and some undeveloped.

2. Failure of initial push that makes the clay rise from the wheel. I have seen some wiki based product documentation projects where people had the motivation to put stuff on Wiki. But the lack of any content at all made people feel just too lost. Nobody knew where to start and how to go about organizing. And since there was zero content to begin with, there was no visibility for that wiki project.

   At a later date, when some seed pages were placed, the content started growing slowly because people could get oriented rather easily.

3. Failure to guide the growth. The first step requires leadership, second step requires some aggression and this third step requires infinite patience and courage. And it just goes on and on for the life of the wiki. It requires constant monitoring of the project and how it is growing. Subtle guidance to the effort.Several Wikipedia pages are flagged in various ways (like “This page requires cleanup”, “This page requires references” etc). All these flags provide subtle guidance to the effort.

   Wikipedia has a team internally that does just that. Review the new pages and various edits being made and guide the growth of those articles. Wikimedia foundation ropes in knowledgeable people and motivates them to join the project.

   I think a lot of projects fail here. There is no one to constantly guide the project.

Several people see wiki as a cheap and effortless way of generating content. On the contrary, making a wiki successful requires tremendous amount of effort and a lot of understanding about what kind of effort is to be put when.

What are your views on this? Why do you think a wiki project may fail? Please share your experiences/insights on what makes a wiki project succeed/fail.