The World Of Wikis
WetPaint, a popular hosted Wiki solution, announced this week that they are to provide person-to-person and private messaging between users of their Wiki network. This means that Wetpaint Wiki users can now send single or multi-person private messages, to connect and collaborate with others about their interests. On reading this news, it got me thinking about Wikis - or more to the point, who is using them and for what purpose. Firstly, I'll briefly describe wikis and then we'll explore the range of wiki products in the market right now.
What is a Wiki and where did they come from?
A Wiki can be described as a website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit and change its content. The invention of the Wiki is credited to a guy called Ward Cunningham, who in 1994 developed a site called WikiWikiWeb. It was/is a place to collect information on people, projects and patterns in software development.
What can a Wiki be used for?
The most successful Wiki to date is the all encompassing, encyclopedic mammoth that is Wikipedia. We all know it, most of us love it (some of us don't) - but the fact remains it is one of the most visited destinations on the web. I did some looking around for other big Wikis and have come up with a few examples:
Wiki Travel is a project "to create an open content, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide". I looked up my home town in Ireland and found very up to date information on all that the town had to offer. If you are about to travel somewhere, it's worth dropping in on this site first.
CookBookWiki is a cooking wiki with over 30,000 recipes and cooking related articles. Their mission is to document every culinary tradition of the world.
Memory Alpha is a wiki that gathers information on the fictional universe of Star Trek! The shear volume of Star Trek related information on this site is unfathomable. The English version of the site has over 24,000 articles - with a lot of those available in 13 different languages. If I was a Star Trek fan, I would think it was pretty damn cool.
A good source of what other Wikis there are out there, can be found at WikiIndex - which is essentially a Wiki about Wikis!
The weird and wonderful Wiki of Memory Alpha
What can I use a Wiki for?
Ok so up to now we have seen some examples of Wikis in use in the real world, but what benefit can a Wiki be to you as an individual or a company? Many wikis in use today are private and outside of the public eye. More and more companies are using a Wiki as collaborative software. They are a great way to maintain internal documentation; all of your staff can contribute and edit documents as need be. A Wiki could even be used to replace large chunks of your otherwise static intranet.
For example, in the company where I work we have discussed using a Wiki to build up a collection of support documentation for the software we build. At the moment we just have a pile of static articles that are updated from time to time by a handful of people in the company. If we were to use a Wiki, anyone in our office could easily edit these articles regularly and therefore keep a far more up to date store of information.
On an individual level, WetPaint (for example) is used by people to build Wikis on just everything. Current examples include wikis on smart phones, dogs, Celtic FC, Q phones, book lists, XBox 360, cancer, and Lost. So if you have got something you are passionate about and want to build up a publicly accessible and editable resource, then WetPaint just might be the solution for you.
Where can I get a Wiki?
Ok so you want to build a Wiki, where do you go? Well you have 2 options: you can get a hold of some Wiki software and host it yourself, or you can use one of the many hosted solutions out there. Here are a few examples of each:
Hosted Solutions
PB Wiki by most accounts seem to be the biggest consumer wiki farm currently in operation. They have a feature packed system for you to use for free.
Wik.is is another popular free hosted solution. They have some great ideas on their front page for what you can use your free wiki for, so if your looking for inspiration...
WetPaint is a free hosted wiki solution that is ad supported. It targets non-technical internet users who want to collaborate online.
JotSpot is worth a mention. It was bought by Google last November and has been closed to new users ever since. However seeing as it's Google's entry to the world of Wikis, it is probably one to watch for the future.
Central Desktop's primary focus is building simple tools for small teams and workgroups. With plenty of features and packages starting from $25/month, it looks like a good option if you just want to see what a wiki can offer your company - without having to invest too much money or resources.
Update: Wikia is a wiki hosting service founded by Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia Founder) and Angela Beesley. Wikia particularly targets communities, both those established offline and those with a purely online following. It is free of charge for readers and editors.
Software Solutions
MediaWiki is the mother of them all. Why? Well for a start it's free, and secondly it powers Wikipedia - so you can't get more of a thumbs up than that.
Bit Weaver is an open source content management system based upon TikiWiki. The base installation is bare, with nothing more than a theme switcher and user management system. Additional functionality is added by add-on packages.
SocialText is an enterprise wiki and weblog. It is available as a hosted service or a hardware appliance. Pricing is a bit sketchy on their website. When you go to the pricing page they just have a link saying "Contact Our Sales Team For Pricing". When you see that, you know its going to be dear ;-)
Atlassian is a probably the leading wiki provider for enterprises, in terms of its sales. It also has a new product called Confluence Hosted, so it has both software and hosted versions. [Note: Atlassian is a recent R/WW sponsor]
I have no doubt missed loads of great services and sites to power your future Wiki, so for more information on options for building one, check out the Wiki Matrix. They offer a free online comparison tool that details over 100 different wiki solutions.
Conclusion
The future looks bright for the Wiki. As more advanced Wiki solutions are built, they are becoming more and more blurred from the original Wiki DNA. They are evolving.
In some ways, social networks are Wikis - where anyone can edit their own section of content. Indeed the Internet as a whole is one big Wiki, with various restrictions. Then again, a Wiki is like small version of the Internet when you control the content.
Overall, if you want a place for people (staff, fellow enthusiasts, etc) to share, collect and maintain data relating to a topic - then a Wiki might just save you a lot of hassle.
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Salut:
at the tooth of the time;
http://twitter.pbwiki.com/
Smart move from WetPaint. The inbox is the most viewed page on most social networks.
Zoho wiki is also worth mentioning...nice platform.
MediaWiki is a true gem, in league with drupal of CMS fame.
I've also used Zoho, which is a gem
We use internally Mindtouch Deki, a self contained wiki using vmware
David,
A wiki is a website that can be easily edited by more or less anyone. Last time I looked I couldn't edit the world wide web - at least not easily. Even with a copy of DreamWeaver and "HTML for Dummies" by my side. ;-) FYI: Socialtext is open source - just like MediaWiki. So prices start at zero. Socialtext also hosts free wikis for small groups (up to 5 users).
I'm interested in the fact that most wikis are used internally (not publicly available) in company intranets. I am actually looking for an experienced web developer to help me build out my companys intranet from the ground up. We are a company which will be dealing with very heavy loads of information. Our key to success will be to have an excellent internal archiving/search system. If anyone reading thinks they fit the bill, please email me at dan@rondeel.com. I want to implement the most current and efficient technologies to make our internal library of information (urls, documents, emails, etc.) easily searchable.
Glad to see Wikis getting attention!
I'm a little surprised you didn't mention Wikia. I thought that was the most famous free-hosting Wiki, since it's started by Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia.
Zoho (mentioned by #3) is also pretty impressive.
Jon
I am quite surprised you didn't mention Jimmy Wales, the pride of St. Petersburg, Florida! Not only did he found Wikipedia, but he is now working on a wiki-based search engine! I also just learned how to properly press clothes at Wikihow. Also working for George sucks and I'm not wearing any pants.
I am also glad to see that wikis are getting the attention they deserve. I truly believe that they are in the new age in media. Since they are written by the audience, it ensures the information is relevant, honest and interesting.
Check www.ListAfterList.com and start creating your own wikis.
Wikispaces deserves a shout out for having some really cool features (including easy backup, just click to download site as a zip or a html site)and it's giving away lots of ad free accounts to k12 teachers.
This is a horrible article. Mediawiki has had private messaging for years, so news about Wetpaint adding it is a big old *yawn*. Cookbook Wiki was made by a bot, wow! And it doesn't mention Wikia one of the largest companies in the space. . . .
Readdwriteweb deserves an F for research.
In the wiki software area, the upcoming release of DokuWiki is hot. It's open source, has an active community, lots of plugins, including a blog plugin. Also it uses plain text files and no database so it is very easy to backup and restore.
Hello,
Nice article.
We (LIT at UNT) are developing Wiki for translation, if somebody is interested.
The project is here, it will be distributed GPL of course.
lit.csci.unt.edu/~babylon/wikiTR
Examples here:
http://lit.csci.unt.edu/~babylon/wikiTR/index.php/Article_1
http://lit.csci.unt.edu/~babylon/wikiTR/index.php/Article_2
That should be "sheer". Good article. :)
Updated: added Wikia to hosted solutions.
Shameless plug - delete if wanted -
We at www.AboutUs.org are hoping to change that! :-)
Mark
(also a cofounder of WikiIndex.org)
Hi Folks,
Thank you for all of the comments. First of all Wikia is a an obvious omission so D'oh! sorry about that, we have added it to the list.
#7: I agree, the world wide web is very hard to edit indeed, Ive been trying with limited success for years! As for social text, yes they do offer a free hosted solution so fair point.
#10: Yes I probably should have given Jimmy more air play, but I didn't want to write another article about Wikis that focuses on Wikipedia. Wikipedia kicks ass in my opinion full stop. I just wanted to see what else was out there.
#13: Wetpaint's announcement might be a big yawn but its not the focus of the article. What Wetpaint does offer is a service that communicates better with people who are not clued up on Wikis.
I am bit surprised that TWiki (http://www.twiki.org) does not get mentioned in this subject. It is a comprehensive open-source wiki and many ideas from this project are "ported" to the commercial world.
Don't forget the iPod Shuffle of wikis, TiddlyWiki. http://www.tiddlywiki.com/
And http://tiddlyspot.com/ where you can use TiddlyWiki online (and offline).
May be Wetpaint is not the first one to develop private message. Interesting questions would be which wikis would be able to design such private message feature to
1. create a twitter-like effect on contribution
2. increase internal and cross-wiki contribution
Most wikis suffer from short-lived inactive users. If this kind of feature is designed well with usability (simplicity & ease of use), it would give site contributors the tool to motivate other less-active users to contribute more content or viewing. The bottomline is to increase the statistics on
1. page views
2. unique visits and visitors
3. active users
4. visit duration
5. no. of comments & contributions
6. visiting path
...
This type of marketing promotion among users (admin2user & user2user) is far better than the normal wiki email alert (B2user).
If any wiki can think of getting twitter type of contribution (from IM, SMS, and Email) uploading to a wiki page comments, I bet you can get Robert Scoble jumping off his seat. You can get him on Twitter any time any where but huh updating on wiki, that is the last thing he would think of.
Very well laid out post.
Nice and simple.
Straight to the point.
Reference to where to get started.
Great way to introduce people.
Just started our company wiki for client documentation.
For anyone that wants to get a MediaWiki instance up and running *fast*, try the MediaWiki Appliance available from rPath's rBuilder Online. Ready-to-run VMware, Xen, VirtualIron, Microsoft VHD, and installable DVD images are all available. http://www.rpath.org/rbuilder/project/vehera-base/
Also, to play around with your own MediaWiki instance using Amazon's EC2 virtual compute cloud, check out the Guided Tour available at http://www.rpath.com/tour/?tour=mediawiki - part of the rPath "Appliance Experience" website. http://www.rpath.com/experience
Any wikis that applies business intelligence data using cluster analysis or multiple regression/correlation analysis back into a more flexible user group selection model may further improve the statistics. Wiki users across network are totally strangers. How would you match their interests to accelerate the cross-over invitation process? How would you save group preferences?
Memory Alpha is a wiki that gathers information on the fictional universe of Star Trek! The shear volume of Star Trek related information on this site is unfathomable.
===============================================
The shear volume of Star Trek.
Even if you use a spell checker, it would not help prevent spellling
errors such as those differentiated between shear and
sheer
try http://www.springnote.com - wysiwyg wiki editor from korea.
simple, convenient and cool.
They need to work out how to keep spammers off (as usual). Spammers have basically wrecked blogs. Wikis are a natural next target. I'm surprised there aren't ads for ***** ehhancement on this blog.
They need to work out how to keep spammers off (as usual). Spammers have basically wrecked blogs. Wikis are a natural next target. I'm surprised there aren't ads for ***** ehhancement on this blog.
Wikis encourages quick community participation particulary because of the anticipation of getting something published/changed at regular intervals. It allows democratic expression of ideas. There are a number of wikis being used by many to keep track of work on various projects and the awareness is increasing rapidly about the use of wikis. I think the acceptance and usage of wikis will depend on how much people understand its business potential and to what extent they feel it meets their business needs.
Thanks for the great info. I tried several of the wikis out. I'm not sure they're the best idea for group sharing of files, events, polling, discussion boards, photos, templates, etc. Any thoughts or advice on "egroup" website/tools? I've so far narrowed my choices down to collectivex.com and yahoo groups. I'm looking for a tool that is simple to learn for the person that wants the group but isn't extremely technically inclined.