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Synergy between the TechNet Wiki and TechNet Gallery

  • Artikkeli

I have been extremely busy lately and it is great to take some time to post on our favorite blog :)

In this post, I’d like to talk discuss community synergy by using both TechNet Wiki and the TechNet Gallery for content delivery.

The Wiki is the best place to post and collaborate on technology articles. The Gallery is the best place to post complete and non-trivial code solutions. With the goal being to deliver the best content to the community at large and in order to maximize the potential audience and utility of a specific topic that includes more than a short code example, using both the Wiki and Gallery for content delivery is a true community win!

Scenario: Wiki usage that leads to Gallery usage

An IT Pro is looking for an example to solve a specific scenario. After turning to Bing, she has been directed to a Wiki article that describes her scenario in detail. The Wiki article includes code snippets throughout the article that describe how each line of code solves the problem at hand. Satisfied that the presented solution and accompanied code snippets in the Wiki article will solve the scenario, the IT Pro wishes for a complete script and discovers a link to the TechNet Gallery. The IT Pro visits the Gallery, is presented with specific usage instructions and downloads the script. The IT Pro is happy that she now has a complete understanding of the problem along with a script to address their scenario.

Specifically related to cross traffic generation, this same scenario also applies inversely where folks who browse the Gallery for code find themselves on the Wiki.

Benefits of using both the Wiki and Gallery for content delivery

Here are some benefits to using both the Wiki and Gallery for content delivery:

  • A clean way to present both article content and code content
    If your solution includes a lot of code and/or multiple code files, the Gallery is the best place to post this content. This allows the content posted in the Wiki to address core concepts and explain code snippets while keeping the readability and concept comprehension of the Wiki content high (i.e. not posting a wall of code that may be difficult to read)

  • Maximize opportunities for community content contribution and interaction
    The Wiki allows for others to contribute additions to comment on content. Although the Gallery allows for one author per contribution, between the Wiki comments section and the Gallery Q/A, there are two opportunities for the community to provide feedback to improve your article content and code examples. In addition, the Q/A functionality on the Gallery provides email alerts when a question is asked by the community and the Wiki provides email alerts when the community posts are edited. All of these are great ways to remain engaged with the community.

  • Generate more traffic for your content and promote multiple community platforms
    Using both the Wiki and Gallery to post your content allows a wider audience to consume and contribute to your work and you’ll increase the probability that more members of the community will see and use your content. At the same time, you’ll also be promoting the usage of both the Wiki and Gallery which is positive for everyone.

  • MSDN/TechNet Profile – Achievements
    Many activities on the Wiki and Gallery count towards earning achievements within the profile recognition system. Posting/editing a Wiki article, Wiki Page Views, Gallery downloads and commenting on a Wiki/Gallery post over time can lead to obtaining many different profile achievements. Please see “How do I earn achievements” for more information regarding achievement criteria.

On a personal note, I prefer to use the Wiki instead of my blog to deliver technology article content. In some cases, I’ll cross post on the Wiki and my blog, however I find the most value in posting on the Wiki due to community contribution possibilities and interaction with the community. When I have code to share, my preference is to use the Gallery. By using both the Wiki and Gallery to deliver content, the community wins.

The next time you have an article with code to share with the community, consider using both the TechNet Wiki and the TechNet Gallery.

Yours in the community,

Craig

Comments

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2013
    And remember that the Gallery isn't just for code. If you have Word docs, Visio files or anything else you want to make available for download, use the Gallery.

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2013
    @tshinder, Indeed - the TechNet Gallery is also a platform where other assets can be posted for download. The context of this post was to showcase the outlined synergy use case between the Wiki and Gallery. For completeness, this particular synergy notion also extends to the TechNet Script Center which is exclusive to code examples. All types of community contributions are always welcome, encouraged and appreciated by all. Thanks for commenting to inform others that the Gallery can be used as a content distribution platform for more than code examples! Cheers, Craig

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2013
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2013
    Hey that reminds me. Do we have examples of articles that synergize TN Wiki with the Gallery? One from XAML Guy: social.technet.microsoft.com/.../13461.blackboard-design-pattern-a-practical-example-radar-defense-system.aspx Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2013
    @Ed, Your previous post on this topic was awesome and I felt it was important to re-illustrate this synergistic community potential with my own spin and thoughts. Although I have examples of my own work where I could illustrate Wiki/Gallery synergy, I wasn't intending to use this post for this purpose. If anyone else has some examples, please share them here. I and the community would be grateful. Cheers, Craig

  • Anonymous
    April 08, 2013
    Craig, do you have links to your examples? I've been trying to collect them. Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    April 08, 2013
    I've never used the TechNet Gallery yet. However, there was a lot of interest by reading this article. Thanks, Craig.

  • Anonymous
    April 10, 2013
    Very nice topic. I am using TechNet wiki and I have a contribution of 25 script.

  • Anonymous
    April 10, 2013
    Also as beeing an IT-Pro I never used the gallery.. I should use it more.. Thanks Craig !

  • Anonymous
    April 10, 2013
    Serhad, do you have Wiki articles that link directly to the Gallery items? Could you post some URLs? I'm collecting examples. Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    April 11, 2013
    Ed, As per your request related to collecting examples, here are two of examples of Wiki-Gallery synergy that I have contributed in the past:

Install SharePoint 2013 Prerequisites on Windows Server 2012 Offline/Manually Wiki Article: social.technet.microsoft.com/.../14582.install-sharepoint-2013-prerequisites-offline-or-manually-on-windows-server-2012-a-comprehensive-guide.aspx Gallery - PowerShell Scripts: gallery.technet.microsoft.com/DownloadInstall-SharePoint-e6df9eb8

Manage SharePoint 2010/2013 Browser File Handling MIME Types Wiki Article: social.technet.microsoft.com/.../8073.sharepoint-2010-and-2013-browser-file-handling-deep-dive.aspx Gallery - PowerShell functions: gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Manage-SharePoint-2010-or-93e4b48c Cheers, Craig