Wiki Works

 

Blogs have been creating quite a stir for some time. Many organizations and individuals have found creative means to use them not only as a regular journal but also as a collaboration tool. However, there is another open system phenomenon gathering force: Wiki.

Not many people have embraced it, nor have many organizations realized its potential as a collaboration tool. But despite its off-beat name, Wiki is generating momentum. Recently, a Silicon Valley startup aiming to develop an application platform for Wiki had 3,000 companies sign up for a beta test.

Humble Beginnings
Apparently Wiki Web got its name from a shuttle at the Honolulu Airport--"wiki wiki" means quick in Hawaiian. It was created way back when--actually in 1995--by Ward Cunningham as an automated supplement to the PortlandPatternRepository, an online journal for patterns about programs and the extreme programming discipline.

According to Wikipedia--a Wiki project itself--a Wiki or wiki is a website or other hypertext document collection that allows a user to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows that content to be edited by any other user. The term Wiki can also refer to the collaborative software used to create such a website.

Like most other open source initiatives, Wiki also has its own diehard followers. They show a great deal of camaraderie and uniqueness. In fact, some …

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