Creating a Wiki

Creating a Wiki

Writing a wiki article is fairly easy. wikiHow is a website where people can contribute different how-to articles. It is simple to participate in creating an original article on the wikiHow site. First, it is important to pick a topic you are knowledgeable in. The topic must be easy to explain and it’s best to avoid more abstract things. Once you pick a topic you understand, it’s important to think of different ways to convey your message to the viewers on wikiHow. 

For example, the topic I decided to use was How To Create Rosemary Mint African Black Soap Shampoo. I was fairly knowledgeable in this topic and have performed this task plenty of times. In order to properly teach others a task, you must understand the task yourself.

My topic was a simple step by step formula. Creating Rosemary Mint African Black Soap Shampoo is easy if you follow the same few steps in order and because it is so simple it should come out perfectly every time. 

To communicate my wiki, I wrote a rough draft of the steps. Next, I gathered my ingredients and tools. To ensure that I didn’t miss any steps, I did a test run in order to make any changes to my draft. Once I was satisfied with my steps, I focused on the words I would use to communicate my message.

I started with my introduction. I used facts I already knew as well as reliable sources to write an introduction on African Black Soap Shampoo and its benefits. It was important to write an engaging introduction to get people to read my article. When you do research on something, you will come across many facts. It’s important to pick and choose the most interesting and important facts or benefits to draw your audience in.

 After writing my introduction, I focused on the steps in my article. I read many different articles on wikiHow on various topics in the past. In order to refresh my memory, I read a few more articles to become familiar with the language. To create your own wiki it is important to study the ones already out there and learn from them. This will make the process of creating a wiki must easier and manageable for you.

Before publishing my how-to article and in order to succesfully communicate my wiki, I had to choose my words carefully. It is important to speak to your audience very clearly. I wrote in a way that broke everything down into simple steps. It’s important to write every single thing someone has to do in order for them to understand and successfully complete the task, even if it seems repetitive. It is also important to give warnings and tips along the way. It is valuable to mention anything your audience might encounter or see while performing the task on their own. For example, in my article I mentioned how the water would begin to change color as you mixed the ingredients to ensure readers that it was normal and a sign they were performing the task correctly. I also gave suggestions on how much of the ingredients to use while also giving readers freedom to customize their own shampoo. 

Using my draft and thinking of any questions that might arise as others are performing the task, I finished my step by step article. After your words are written, it is a good idea to go back and perform the task again. Not just from your own personal knowledge and memory, but as someone who is unfamiliar and a novice when it comes to the task. This helped me make sure my instructions were clear and easy to understand. 

Visuals are very important in communicating your wiki. For this project I took many pictures of myself performing the task to give readers a visual of everything they must do. This part can be tricky for some topics as they can be harder to put into visual form. For my topic, it wasn’t hard to communicate visually, but it was a bit difficult to take pictures by myself. To help communicate my wiki I took many pictures during each step. When creating a wiki, it is a good idea to take lots of pictures from different angles and have many options. After taking the pictures, I sorted through the different pictures and picked the photos that represented the task best. 

Since wikis are web based, you want your pictures to be suitable for online. It is important to edit your images size, resolution, and brightness in order to put the best version of your image on the web. Images should load easily and be clear on the web so that your readers will be able to use those images as a guide when they perform the task themselves. 

After you have used words and images to communicate your wiki article, it is time to get it ready for the web and to be published. No matter what site you are working on, you must learn their format. For example, it is important to understand wikiHow’s formatting and editing. For my article, I coded everything using the wikiHow guide. This way I was able to section off my article by steps and categories. For example, I coded a separate section of warnings and tips within my wiki. Things like this will help your readers along their journey. I also included a section titled “Things You’ll Need”. When you code your wiki article you want to make things as simple and easy as possible for your readers.

Once the body and images are web ready, it is time to enter everything into your wiki site for publishing. Not everything will go smoothly, so it’s important to take your time and make use of the preview option to make sure everything is looking great.

Creating and communicating a wiki is challenging, but fun. If you are looking to have your own experience creating a wiki, remember to pick something you enjoy and understand. Save all your work and plan everything accordingly. 

You Can Do Anything with One Click!

wikiHow has been helping countless people since 2005! It’s very likely that you’ve googled how to do something and seen plenty of wikiHow articles at your disposal. Although it seems unlikely, there are actually a few articles you currently won’t find on the site.

How to Make African Black Soap Shampoo: Many people are becoming more conscious about what they put in their hair. People look for shampoos that are paraben and sulfate-free. This article exists for conscious people who want a simple and natural shampoo alternative. African Black Soap is a natural and gentle cleanser. If you are concerned about the ingredients you put on your hair or would prefer you own customizable fragrance then this article is right for you.

How to Make Mango Butter Hair Cream: Many girls are ditching chemical relaxers and are going natural! When you go natural it can be hard to find the right products for your hair. Not all hair creams and conditioners are created equal and sometimes it’s best just to make your own. This article exist for people who haven’t found conventional hair creams that work for their hair type. This minimal and natural hair cream is easy to make and nourishing for all hair types.

How to Shop For “Accidentally” Vegan Food: Anyone with a Netflix account has probably seen the hit documentary What the Health at least once. Statistics show that veganism is on the rise. New vegans don’t always have to give up their favorite snacks and junk food. Not all foods are marketed as vegan, but that doesn’t mean they are not! This articles shows vegans how to find food that just happens to be vegan at their local grocery stores. Reading labels can be tricky, but there are easy ways to find out if the snack you cherish is “accidentally” vegan!

Honestly, wikiHow wouldn’t achieve the goal of having the most helpful how-to instructions if they didn’t relentlessly accept new articles and updates! There are plenty of articles that still need to be written and here are just a few ideas!

Zinobia + The Internet

Escape

I developed a love for the Internet early on. Honestly, I’m not ashamed of it. 

My first experience on the Internet was an online community called Zwinky. Zwinky was appealing to me because it felt like Club Penguin for adults. It had the personalized characters and the fun games without the comment restrictions. 

Everyone had access to Zwinky, even people older than me. I think part of me knew it was a risky site. I remember dimming my desktop light and turning the screen a bit so my parents wouldn’t see that I was on the site passed midnight. 

Zwinky exposed me to Internet creeps and tolls early on. Although I met some weirdos online, I didn't shy away from the World Wide Web. I was obsessed with sites like Zwinky, Meez, and Webkinz. There was something that attracted me to the idea of a virtual world where I could be anybody I wanted. The Internet was an escape for me. 

Eventually, I moved from virtual worlds and games to social media. I had different interests, but the idea of the web being an escape stuck with me. 

My first social media experience was Myspace. I took my Myspace page seriously. I spent hours editing my theme and picking out the best music list. I only posted the best photos! I carefully created my “Top 8” friends list. My page represented the version of myself I wanted everyone to see and like.

My negative experiences with social media took place before I was an adult. Even today, people still use social media negatively. People can hide behind a screen on social media. I was a victim of cyberbullying growing up. It was one of those situations where the bullying suddenly followed me home from school thanks to Myspace and Facebook. There is a sense of anonymity. We can see pictures of a person with their family, friends, and pets. We can view their birthday and where they go to school. We can see all these things about a person on their page, yet sometimes we still forget that they are real and we can hurt them with our words. 

I definitely see social media negatively affecting people’s personal lives in the future. I think many people are too careless on the Internet. That becomes clear when people get expelled or fired for offensive comments they post. 

When I first joined social media, my main concern was designing the coolest Myspace page. These days, I think people are more concerned about being heard. People love the freedom social media gives them. We can present ourselves any way we want online, but people need to realize they are responsible for what they put out there. 

Although I have used the Internet and social media as an escape all my life, I think it’s important we realize that social media and the real world will always be connected. You can’t put something on social media and not expect it to affect your reality.