Today I'm celebrating the birthday of the world's first wiki. On this date in 1995, WikiWikiWeb (created by Ward Cunningham) was made public. A wiki is a user-editable website. The software and website were developed in 1994 in order to make the exchange of ideas between programmers easier. The name derives from the Wiki Wiki Shuttle at the Honolulu International Airport. Wiki is a Hawaiian word for fast. Cunningham's idea was to make the pages quickly editable by users. After an initial thought of "QuickWeb" -- the name was settled as WikiWikiWeb.
If you've thought about hanging a shingle on the WWW, a wiki may be the solution for you.
- Easy to create web-based content -- no technical expertise needed for many wiki farms or wiki services
- Real-time updates of web-based content -- no waiting for technical support to update your web server files
- Access current information in real-time -- no wondering if you have the latest version of a document or file
Don't worry -- you can create a wiki. Even my Mom (a senior adult) manages a wiki. Just think of the possibilities:
- a travel scrapbook
- a website about your hobby
- a log of your favorite recipes (to reference while on vacation at the ski cabin next winter)
- a home inventory (on a private wiki, of course, only accessible by your family)
- a site to plan your next party
- a site to plan the next trip with your friends
- a site to plan the next class or family reunion
- a site for your carpool
- a site for your child's sport team
- I could go on and on....endless possibilities!
To learn everything about wikis, visit Everything Wiki -- it's a wiki about wikis.
Post a comment to tell us what you like best about wikis. Post a comment on Wiki'd Places to share your favorite wiki with the world.
Image credit: www.thecontentwrangler.com
