Create Your Own Wiki

While you can contribute your expertise to existing websites, you can also create your own wiki by utilizing online services or from freely available open source applications. Wikipedia, for example, is powered by an open source platform known as MediaWiki.

A wiki is simply a collection of web pages that can be modified by anyone with access to the web application. It is a living document that allows for collaboration and regular updates.

If you have your own web hosting provider, MediaWiki offers you the familiar Wikipedia look and feel, though newcomers may find that building a wiki from scratch is overwhelming and will still need to understand the syntax for updating and editing wiki pages. If you do not have your own hosting provider or want to host your wiki page elsewhere, consider using pbwiki, a widely used collaborative wiki for businesses, college course work, and other user-generated content. Figure 8-14 shows an example pbwiki page for a college course on social networking. pbwiki is available in a free version, but paid options are also available with more storage and support options.