End-user comments via wikkis, blogs, and forums may add value to generic information.
Amazon was one of the first to stumble onto this idea. By allowing anyone to provide book reviews. End users added value to Amazon's service as a bookseller, made it difficult for competitors to replicate, and increased the value of their service.
- Wikis are another form of this phenomenon. By providing the infrastructure and focus, a Wiki harnesses end users to add value to a web site.
- What are wikies, blogs, and forums?
A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content. It is like an online encyclopedia where the subjects can be created and updated by the visitors to that page.
- A blog (from the term "Web log") is a web page, maintained by one or a group of people, who regularly update the page with new entries on commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.
- An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site. It is a specific online place that people can go to read postings or contribute. Forums are set up to discuss specific topics.