Wiki

A wiki is a type of web site that allows certain visitors (as designated by the host of the web site) to easily add, remove, and otherwise edit and change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for the development and organization online of collaborative projects and information databases like encyclopedias and knowledge management systems. The term wiki also can refer to the collaborative software itself that enables the operation of such a website, or to certain specific wiki websites, the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Pronunciation

In the U.S., the word "wiki" is popularly pronounced "WICK-ee." It is also pronounced "WEE-kee" by some pioneering users of the software and approach. The popular pronuciation "WICK-ee" likely comes from the generally-used pronunciation of the wiki-based encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Small Business and wikis

Wikis can be used in various ways by small businesses. These range from serving as a project management platform for employees to the creation of a customer-service knowledge base. Indeed, SmallBusiness.com is a a large-scale wiki project that allows readers like you to share your knowledge with others interested in topics related to managing a small business.

Choosing wiki software

As with other types of software, there are many choices in technology approaches to creating and managing a wiki. These range from free hosted wiki services for the creation of quick and temporary wikis to large-scale software solutions used by large corporations for major knowledge-management resources.

External links

• WikiMatrix - Online resource to compare wiki software products and services. Currently 77 wiki software options are available for comparison.
• 30+ Solutions to Start Your Own Wiki - An article posted on Mashable.com on July 29, 2008.