Connect. The Network Media Partners blog.

Organization-wide wiki adds efficiency, ideas, knowledge

3 reasons your organization should use a wiki

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1. Collective knowledge.

The more you share, the more your organization evolves. Give staffers the sense of ownership of a particular success by allowing for the free flow of information and ideas.

2. Collective ideas.

Think of a wiki as a prolonged brainstorming session with an open door policy. Ideas go in, get built upon, and come out of the wiki as fully formed innovations.

3. Collective efficiency.

Frequently Asked Questions are easily answered by a quick wiki search.

In the blossoming age of social media, organizations have a variety of options for sharing information both internally and externally. At Network, we decided to implement a company-wide wiki as a central location for our internal information.

“A wiki is akin to what the founders of the Internet originally envisioned as the primary purpose of the Web,” said Jim Cooke, Vice President. “Our wiki allows everyone to both contribute and search for information specific to our company.”

“A wiki is good for any and all organizational practices and processes, as well as suggestions, tips, and ideas,” explains Jen Smith, Creative Director.

“Information that was once only known by one person is now accessible by all departments,” says Sean Soth, Senior VP. “Using the wiki has cut down on my own individual FAQs.”

Anyone at Network can update the internal wiki, which ensures that the most current information is available. Carrie Hartin, COO, remarks, “As reflective of the media industry, our work processes and tools are constantly evolving. The wiki has been perfect for information that changes regularly, as well as more established information and procedures.”

An organization-wide wiki, which is free-form in structure, defies our usual organization of server-bound file folders. Because of its lack of traditional structure, the wiki is easily searchable. For Megan Lebo, Assistant Traffic Manager, “having one place to look for information is very helpful and increases efficiency, instead of searching through several folder hierarchies and hoping to recognize a file name.”
The fewer parameters you set for your wiki, the more versatile it can be. Because anyone can edit or comment on a topic, a wiki can also serve as space for collaboration.

“In the art department, we use the wiki to house important logistical info for our jobs, but we also use it to share design inspiration and ideas,” Smith says.

“[My team] can share conference call notes here to be sure we have a record of our conversations and joint concerns,” Soth said. The more topics we add to our wiki, the more its purpose evolves. “I have the ability to gain new ideas from what other employees are doing successfully…the wiki allows me to see what is working for our entire team,” says Shannon Reid, VP, Sales.

A wiki’s versatility and free-form structure can be adapted to meet the varied needs of any organization. From an information bank, to a collaborative, creative space, a wiki can increase your organization’s efficiency, dispense information, and build new channels for innovation.
–Katherine Boyce, Sales Associate, Network Media Partners.

Off Site

Network staff treat families at the Ronald McDonald House to dinner

The culture at Network revolves around partnerships—with our associations, our advertisers and each other. We have also been working on building partnerships with the greater Baltimore community through philanthropy efforts.

In August, we teamed up with the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore to host a dinner for the families staying there. The Ronald McDonald House provides a home environment for families with seriously ill
children undergoing treatment at nearby hospitals. This “home-away-from-home” provides a much-needed support system to the children and families going through a difficult time.

Everyone here at Network was able to contribute to this event—from researching the organization, donating money and purchasing food, to preparing and serving the meal. We had a great time making dinner —chicken on the grill, pasta, cupcakes, brownies, ice cream, and more—with plenty of leftovers for the families to take to the hospital for the children there. We were also able to spend time with the families staying at the House and are looking forward to hosting another event in the future.

—Brittany Sullivan, Account Executive.

Is Cloud Computing just fluff?

At first it was just a crazy idea. Orwellian. As ridiculous as sending a rocket to the moon in the 1950s. The business masses—especially the engineers stuck down in the computing boiler rooms—all thought “it sure would be nice if we just did not have to mess with the cost and hassle of our servers anymore.”

Then someone actually did something about it. With the advancement of virtual servers, cloud computing has developed into a viable way to do business. Someone else (like Google or now Amazon) will tend to your data, while you simply access it through your browser.

Cloud computing is the newest frontier. To business, it means reduced IT costs, increased storage, consistently updated software, flexibility and mobility. It allows your IT staff to focus on innovation rather than maintenance, and it opens the door for faster integration between solutions, allowing all of us to get the job done in a more effective and efficient way.

—Jim Cooke is Vice President, Network Media Partners