Wikis are web-based publishing tools that provide collaborative authoring capabilities to anyone with appropriate editing permission and a web browser connected to the internet. While the most popular wiki is by far Wikipedia, these browser-based tools are increasingly being used by software developers, technical documentation professionals, and customer support representatives to create training materials, support centers, and product documentation. There’s even a wiki based on the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) that supports authoring structured XML content in compliance with the DITA standard.
Anne Gentle, of
JustWriteClick, has posted a
slide deck from a recent presentation about wikis she delivered to members of Austin STC. In it, Anne provides links to several wikis used by companies to provide product documentation, announcements, and software updates. These sites often allow—even encourage—user-generated content. If you are interested in how some other organizations are using wikis, take a peek at the wikis Anne spotted:
