Do you know how to Wiki?

Wiki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The terms wiki (pronounced "weekee", /wiki/ in SAMPA) and WikiWiki are used to identify either a specific type of hypertext document collection or the collaborative software used to create it. "Wiki wiki" means "super fast" in the Hawaiian language.

It's a form of collaborative publishing, information sharing and knowledge management. A wiki contains a link that allows anyone to add, delete or modify text. HTML is not permissible. A wiki is completely open-source, without passwords or permissions. So, in short, a wiki is a form for building a body or base of knowledge that a population can access to generate concensus, debate issues, explore topics, formulate ideas/strategies and share knowledge.

Like weblogs or "blogs," wikis utilize RSS to notify readers/participants of changes to content. The difference appears to be that wikis almost, if not completely, abandon the concepts of ownership and control.

So... what does this mean in marketing terms? I'm not sure, yet. But a few really neat examples come to mind:

1- War-room style project management
Who owns the project? The whole team does. I like the idea that everyone can contribute equally to debate and challenge, plus the idea of immediate notification of content changes would be highly useful.

2- Customer proposal & work scope documentation
Who owns the proposal, anyway? No one does, if you think about it. A proposal is worthless to the vendor if the client won't accept it. Conversely, if the client pushes too far and makes the deal sour or unpalatable for the vendor, the vendor will walk from the negotiating table.

3- Online collaboration
Who owns the logo, the story or the brochure while it is in production? Ask the attorney... but hey, a wiki would be a great tool for online editing in some of the work that we do for our clients. I can see that the handy 'track changes' feature might be missed on certain projects, of course. On simpler projects, wiki might just work.

I'm sure there are other marketing applications. Drop me a note with your ideas.