If anyone’s heard me do a presentation over the last twelve months, you know I can’t get through one without using the word “WIKI.”
I’ll admit I’ve become a big proponent of wikis, and the possibilities they offer for a more intelligent and targeted delivery of information in a way that doesn’t just project information to the end-user; but actually engages them in a bi-directional exchange of knowledge.
I’m currently doing a fair amount of background reading on various aspects of wiki technology and the use of wikis for an upcoming white paper on Wiki Publishing.
What I hadn’t thought about until I started the research is why this open editing web based publishing environment is actually called a wiki. I had heard that it was an acronym for “What I Know Is.” But it turns out that this is more accurately a backronym.
Wiki doesn’t stand for anything.
“Wiki” is the Hawaiian word for “fast.”
The story goes that Ward Cunnigham, the creator of the first wiki site , installed in 1995, was looking for a name that reflected how quick it was to set up a his new style of website and remembered a counter clerk at Honolulu International Airport telling him to use the “wiki-wiki” shuttle bus.
Well this is one bus ride I, and the rest of the WebWorks team, is committed to. Hop on board and join us – they’ll be some interesting stops over the coming months.