Wikis are incredibly useful applications. They can be used as academic tools, to facilitate business practices, and in a variety of other contexts. The first true wiki was created in 1994 by Ward Cunningham, who named the new application WikiWikiWeb in memory of a shuttle bus he remembered from the Honolulu International Airport. “Wiki” is a Hawaiian word meaning “quick” or “fast,” referring to how quick or fast it is to edit information on a wiki.
Since 1994, the variety of wiki sites has increased exponentially. Wikipedia, the most famous of the online encyclopedia wikis, was first developed to complement another free online encyclopedia, Nupedia. Articles for Nupedia were going to be written by qualified professionals in related fields. However, development of Nupedia was going so slowly that developers rolled out Wikipedia to bridge the gap. Its popularity almost immediately surpassed Nupedia, and it remained the most popular wiki site today.
Wikipedia introduced the concept of wikis to the general public. The more widespread technology becomes, the more uses applications like wikis have. With the ever increasing popularity of the internet, it has become even easier for anyone to create a wiki article.
Part of the usefulness of wikis is the ability of users to add, delete, or change content in a collaborative forum. Before you create a wiki article, consider what features you want your wiki to have. What will you be using it for? Who else is working on it? Who can see it? Who can edit it? There are wiki sites to meet every need. Soon you will be on your way to create wiki pages of your own!