Wiki Ramble

Warning:  this entry is just a very boring rant.

I want to learn how to use wikis.  Seems easy enough?  Everyone says wikis are easy to use, what you see is what you get, and all the information is on the internet.  I mean we all use wikipedia.  I was told that creating wikis is very similar to what I do with creating mini posters / mind maps for when I study which is why I want to learn to create wikis - for my studying and information gathering in the next few years.  I will be able to share these with others (presumably), and use it as reference easily later on in my career (again, I'm not sure if that's true).  Having my own private wikipedia on genetic counseling WOULD be kind of cool.

The problem is I don't know how to create wikis.  In fact, I'm not too sure how they work.  I've spent hours trying to figure out what to do or where to start, and I'm still so confused.  I think the problem is that wiki, by it's very nature is a sort of bottom-up information structure, but the way I learn is very top-down.  So I'm left very frustrated.  There are so much information out there about things you can do with a wiki, but not a lot of examples (other than wikipedia) or beginner instructions on how you achieve those things.  I also keep running into terminologies that seem like they are suppose to make sense, but don't make any sense to me at all.  It seems that I'm suppose to download a wiki engine (but there are tons out there, and I don't understand what choosing criteria I should use, and what all these different languages mean.  All I know is I want it for free.  Is a wiki engine like a search engine?  is there a difference between a wiki engine and wiki software and wiki application?).  It seems that I download the wiki engine/software/application, but I use it online.  So what and why am I downloading it?  I don't know where all the information is stored (in a database apparently is the best way - now how do I create this database and where it is kept?  mystery!  Can I keep it on my computer?  If so, how do I share it with others?).  It seems like I might need web-hosting.  Again, not really all that sure what it is, and it costs money to do web-hosting.  I think.  I don't want to spend money on something I don't know what it is and how to use.  And this keeps happening.  I keep running into things like "databases" and "web-hosting", etc, where most people just take for granted that EVERYONE knows what they are and how to use them.  Well, I don't.  It takes several more hours to look those things up and learn what they are because again, they assume that people who want to learn about databases and web-hosting know about computer languages, different formats of whatever... and aaaarrrrgh!!!  Most of the "easier to understand" information are supplied by the companies advertising for their services, and come with exclamation marks at the end.  "Share information with anyone in the world!" "Safe and secure!" "Choose your own web-domain!" (and wth is a web domain?  more looking up).  I could just give them some money, download it and play with it, but again... I don't even know if I need it!  It's like an endless loop of frustration. 

I may seem "computer savvy" to some of my friends, but honestly, I'm just faking it based on my intuition and luck (randomly clicking buttons of unknown functions).  Now the truth comes out - I have no idea what I'm doing on a computer.  And this attempt to learn wiki sure shoves that fact in my face.  Of course, my computer-savvy friends already know I'm clueless when it comes to computers.  Truly, I want to get out of my comfort zone, learn something useful, and enhance my learning experience.  However, I don't know if all this running around and frustration is worth it.  I could just jump in and do something - install something and play with it, but all the work that I put in (if I do decide to take notes and create a database of my genetic counseling knowledge using this tool) could be lost if later on I decide to not use it or never learn how.  I don't know if it's worth it, and I don't know if I have the time.  I could just stick to my good old note taking and drawing mind maps on paper - it certainly is less hassle.  *sighs*  Maybe I just need a break.