Appropriate software tools may improve communication and ease access to knowledge for research groups. However valuable meetings and seminars can be, they can also be time consuming, redundant and are often subject to time lag with regards to information flow. Manuals and quality management systems (QMS) are used by some groups in order to guarantee quality and consistency of the workflow. Maintenance of these documents is laborious and access to information can be difficult.
A “Collaborative Hypermedium” is a medium that consists of nodes representing content and arcs representing links between contents. Two techniques are becoming popular: A weblog, or blog, is a website which contains periodic, chronologically ordered posts on a common webpage. The first weblog was started in 1992 by Berners-Lee, pointing to new web sites as they came online (more). A Wiki (or WikiWiki, meaning "super fast" in the Hawaiian language) is hypertext based collaborative software that enables documents to be authored collectively using a web browser. The first wiki was created by Cunningham in 1995 (Cunningham, Ward and Leuf, Bo 2001: The Wiki Way. Quick Collaboration on the Web. Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-71499-X.).

We use both these techniques, blogs and wikis, as tools for continuous communication within our research team and as substitute-manuals for daily laboratory work in the field of Experimental Surgery and Regenerative Medicine.
The password-protected blog (e.g. Typepad Hosted Weblog Service, Six Apart Ltd., San Mateo CA, USA) is only available to members of the group and enables access to chronologically ordered entries of administrative nature, dates and deadlines (e.g. abstract submissions, meetings, grant-applications) and project-specific information and documents. Comments may be given and further documents and links can be added using the standard hypertext markup language (HTML). The layout of the page enables direct access to the latest entries and comments. The information is structured by individually definable categories, by the date (accessible via a calendar) and is stored in archives – again accessible via the first page. Additionally links to recommended scientific papers are given, direct enquiries of online dictionaries and databases are possible, and contact details of all group members are available. In order to address security concerns, the access to information is password-protected and the system can be set up within the firewall of the workgroup’s intranet.

The password-protected site enables access to chronologically ordered entries (1) structured by individually definable categories (2) and by the date (3). Direct access to the latest comments (4), archives, information concerning group members (5) and to personal administration tools (6) is available.

A wiki is server software that allows users to freely create and edit web page content using any web browser. Wikis support hyperlinks and have simple text syntax for creating new pages and links between internal pages. The wiki-technology (e.g. MediaWiki) is used for documentation of bioreactor design control procedure and to create a manual for operating bioreactor systems. Everyone involved with these two projects may edit, delete or modify content that has been written using a browser interface, including the work of previous authors. Similar to the wiki-based encyclopedia Wikipedia, an administrator has extended rights to manage the information (e.g. protecting pages, undelete and revert information).
The new tools enable the team members to share knowledge simply and fast. It is possible to efficiently manage, navigate and enhance the collective knowledge base of the group. Meetings are freed from administrative topics and can concentrate on scientific discussions. Information that was buried in outdated manuals and QMS-documents with cryptic titles is now easily accessible and updated parallel to its use.
There are various software packages available, mostly free or at a low cost to individual users. Some paid services (usually $5 - $15 per month) include a server, hosting the blog enable access from anywhere in the world, and are therefore serving as a tool for the collaboration of multiple groups. Templates offer simple customization of the design without knowing HTML or requiring any other programming skills. By checking boxes to select items, naming and arranging elements via dragging and dropping an individual structure of the page can be used within 1-2 hours. This implementation should be compared with the setup time of intranet solutions (usually several months) requiring the long-term commitment of group members and redirecting manpower away from the scientist’s core business.

We would like to encourage the use of these simple and affordable tools for communication and knowledge management. Due to their structure they can be easily integrated in already existing intranet and internet-solutions. Although not primarily intended for use as an intranet-based collaborative knowledge warehouse, both blogs and wikis, have the potential to offer all the features of complex and expensive IT-solutions.