Wikis Sharing Time

To me, discovering, exploring and doing the Really Simple Syndicate (RSS)  lesson was like going through a lesson of Reviving Survival Skill in the share well I was thrown into I was relieved that I managed to survive after the meandering through the cobweb Web2.0 thick forest and caught up with a few  fast-footed bloggers, who shared sympathetically with my viewpoint that it was “not an easy” RSS journey 

Emerging from the RSS tunnel, seeing  the clear blue sky, hearing the birds singing,  my spirit was lifted up once more.  Saw the signpost: Common Craft Show : Wikis in Plain English. Curiosity drew me to view the show…Ooops, it was like the silence movie of Sir Charlie Chaplin – so full of actions but no sound! something was not right for me!  Explored, explored... looking  for every hole to plug in and out my earphone, SOS  blogger Margaret a stone throw away, who readily came to help this poor deaf soul, still no-sound but actions on the screen...SOS via email to trainer-cum-supervisor Lawley, who as usual as a gentle-man, never failed to respond speedily even on  his off-duty day,  providing the tips to check all the gears are in proper place. Voila! finally the synchronization of sound and actions now for me to enjoy the video clip.

Well, the Wikis in Plain English preview was quite simple enough for me  to grasp  conceptually Wikis usefulness in the world of Web 2.0;  so curiosity adventurous spirit drew me to sign up for this exploration trip, but I was inwardly curious why called Wiki or Wikis? My own small renown  Oxford dictionary does not give a clue. May be the well-known MacQuarie Dictionary currently advertised now over the Monday-Friday TV LettersandNumbers Program will be the source of information to satisfy my curiosity to trace the root of this word

I signed up to get the Wetpaint, under the impression that  probably it must a super duper high quality wet paint, better than the Nippon paint,  that will help bloggers to paint the town red wherever they venture to!  Or at least be it may be  a safety aid for me to mark carefully the routes I would be taking, and just in case I lost my way , the  spots I mark along the unknown Wiki way may help me to retrace  my steps to return safely where I started this mysterious Wiki journey, since I think I have equipped myself with some  of the   basic knowledge of the Reviving Survival Skill in the RSS expedition taken by bring along  this bucket of wet paint highly recommended.

So I tried  the Wiki waltzing steps  of 1,2,3, “Edit, Write, Save” and was led to all the Wetpaint campsites of bloggers, who have certainly  left their distinctive trail marks behind, some even boldly signed their names, some were left anonymous. Actually I found out that it is more like the  1,2,3,4 Foxtrot steps that I have to do, becasue I have to Read first the voluminous writings of those who were before me, then continue more gracefully the next steps of  Edit, Write and Save in this new Wiki dance.  Neverthless, it was  interesting to read whatever  written on the big canvas ,  but oh, time is  needed to finish reading every one and I was hard pressed for more time as the merciless Internet Police Consable timer staring at my crazy dance, is ticking faster than I could twirl, warning me I had  barely a minute left to turn.  How I wished that I had taken a course on speed reading before!   From what I remember from the Wikis show, the wet paint can be very effectively applied  to erase  all the trail marks created by others if I dislike them.  One can also add more trail marks to or correct the existing ones with the rule of the game of to  “play nice”.   Frankly ,  I simply  don’t have the heart to erase all the colorful trail marks left by Wiki pioneers before me because,  they are HISTORIES, representing the tapestries  stitched and patched by fellow more seasoned Wiki travelers,   reflecting their  team spirit of co-operation to share with me  what they know and they deserve to be  retained for  their originalities.  A question crossed my mind: will or has Wiki become an avenue for copycats to engage in  online plagiarism practice e..g. in the Publish or Perish academic world with the increasing Wikis users?

Now I better now stop my rambling and go and find  five more bloggers, who can give me more tips and encouragements  to help sharpen my Revival Survival Skill for the next journey ahead. 

Some food for thoughts;  I came  across the following Helen Steiner Rice's beautiful poem Trouble  is a Stepping Stone  to Growth that I often read and re-read:

Trouble  is something no one can escape,

Everyone has it in some form or shape -

Some people hide it way down deep inside,

Some people bear it with gallant-like pride,

Some people worry and complain of their lot,

Some people cover what they havn't got,

While others rebel become  bitter and  old

With hopes that are dead and hearts that are cold...

But the wise man accepts whatever God sends,

Willing  to yield like a storm-tossed tree bends,

Knowing that God never makes mistake

So whatever He sends they are willing to take--

For trouble is part and parcel of life

And no man can grow without  trouble and strife,

And the steep hills ahead and high mountain peaks

Afford man at least the peace that he seeks --

So blest are the people who learn to accept

The trouble men try to escape and reject

For in our acceptance

 we're given great grace

And courage and faith and the strength to face

The daily troubles that come  to us all

So we may learn to stand "straight and tall" --

For the grandeur of life is born of defeat

For in overcoming we make life complete.