Many months ago, I came across wikis for several of my favorite video games, only to find that there really weren't any wikis about current affairs or business topics. A couple have been started, covering things such as green politics, politics in Canada, and business in general, but none of the wikis look taken care of or look like they've been updated recently.
It seems like there are many different tools out there that you can use to start a wiki, and the right tool depends on why you want the wiki and who will be using it. MediaWiki is what Wikipedia uses, but I like Wikia because you can start right away (or take over an old one) and it looks a bit more intuitive in how to use it and what you need to do. I really like the idea of creating a wiki, but for a topics like business and politics, it seems like you might be better off buying a whole bunch of books or starting a blog and then covering anything and everything possible. Although, buying books can be expensive (even if you buy only ebooks, it still adds up) and taking the blog route seems very similar to the wiki.
Difference Between Wiki and Blog
WIkipedia points out that the major difference between a blog and a wiki (I know Wikipedia isn't really a reputable source, but who better to source on this topic than the inventor of the wiki?) is that "the content is created without any defined owner or leader, and wikis have little implicit structure, allowing structure to emerge according to the needs of the users." This makes sense once a wiki is established and has a ton of readers and contributors, but any wiki that's starting out would need to have a leader and some structure, right? If no one is leading the way to start the wiki, to get a few articles up, and to tell people about the wiki, then how does anyone expect the wiki to get started and to get to a point of self-sustainability? Someone needs to be the start and the face of the new wiki until there's enough people involved to add new content, to edit existing content, and to make sure the wiki isn't trolled or that someone doesn't add an irrelevant article.
I Might Just Stick with the Blog
I don't like that wikis have a lack of leadership and structure. I understand that those are needed to make them work, and that those criteria have worked for them. But, I wouldn't want them a part of my wiki, and if they aren't a part of the wiki then it's not really a wiki. After all, the main reason I'm pursuing this is to build identity capital and to build my personal brand as someone who is well-versed in current events and politics. A wiki can't do that since it's meant to be a community as much as it is a communal resource. The wiki also only works that way if it's for a specific group of people, such as a non-profit group or a company. Then, I can attribute the wiki idea to myself as something that I contributed to a larger group (and that someone in the larger group could corroborate). Yes, I want the blog to benefit someone besides myself, but I'd also like to build a brand with it and make it the obvious go-to resource on current events, or world news, or business, or something like that. Still deciding because I'm still thinking about the brand name, mantra, positioning statement etc.
But, prepare for, yet again, a change in tone and topic (and A LOT more on this blog).