Blogs vs. Wiki's

What is the difference between a blog and a wiki? What sort of things might be better suited for a blog and better suited for a wiki?

From my experience so far, a blog is very useful for providing information and having a discussion. It's a little bit like a public e-mail conversation. Once the information is posted, it pretty much stays the way it is and you can see a record of the conversation over time.

When I think about blogs, I usually think of someone (or a small group of people) either reporting or commenting on current events; or acting as an expert on a topic. An article is written and then comments are posted. I think a library might have a staff blog to let people know about new books, recommended books, give background information about events happening at the library, and highlight search tools or web pages.

A wiki, however, is more like a collaboration tool. It can be used for very large projects especially when there is alot of data. As new information is collected or agreed upon, the change is made and all you see is the new information. If someone makes an error (in syntax, a typo or maybe they post something that was a misunderstanding), another person can easily change or correct the entry.

At our library, we are using a wiki to capture answers to questions that are a little tricky. For example, the students have an assignment to find out about phlebotomy and malpractice. We keep notes on which databases have the best articles on this topic. It's great because if we find out new information, we just change the entry.

Both applications have the ability to remain private and restrict the ability of people to comment or edit.