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Get a WiKi - With Just One Clicky

What is a Wiki? Many of you have probably heard of WikiPedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Currently there are 2,457,781 articles in English on their site. Many Bloggers link to Wikipedia for explanations and definitions of odd and peculiar terms, words or phrases. What's it for?

You'll find numerous links to overviews, editing, questions, help, contents, searchable categories, featured content, browse their A–Z index and more. Now, how would you like your own? Trust me, You'll love it!!

I think everyone should have "their own" Wiki-Custom Pedia, let me show you how to get yours for FREE, it'll be a quicky! But first, before I do, you are probably asking yourself this, "Self? What is it, and why would I want my own Wiki?" Glad you asked. :-) It's not a WikiPedia, it's a Wiki!

"The PBwiki is the world's largest provider of hosted business and educational wikis. They host over 400,000 wikis, serve millions of users per month, and 96% of their business users would recommend PBwiki to a friend or associate. Leading companies from AT&T to Wal-Mart, including 1/3 of the Fortune 500 companies, choose PBwiki to help them with knowledge management, collaboration, project management, and a host of other business processes and workflows." Quoted by PBwiki

Collaboration for over 30,000 businesses now including ActiveRain

Now use your imagination. If you're a Broker, a REALTOR® in a community, A National Lender, it doesn't matter, I guarantee you will find a way to put a Wiki to good use in your business. Today I created the ActiveRain Wiki, a sample to share with you that will allow you to see some of the endless possibilities. Jon asked me to push the today with these types of technology tools, so I am!
To start your own, you know what to do next! (Hint...it's RED) lol~

Create totally secured wiki's, they do have plans available, but I chose the ones that come for FREE!

Important: You might want to put some time, thought, and effort into how you want to use a wiki for your business. If you're like me, you're going to get very excited when you see all the cool stuff you can do with this, but my suggestion is to take your time, evaluate it, do some research, and then make this a powerful tool in your business. This one goes on my top 10 list, IT'S A REALLY HOT TOOL!

Now that's a quicky wiki! :-) My Outside Blog: REnetBlog.com

Posted by Brad Andersohn ~ Community Builder on 07/15/2008 11:26 PM

Comments (89)

wiki, wikipedia

Originally posted at: Real Estate 2.0 Technology : Get a WiKi - With Just One Clicky

Post is included in group: The Art Of Marketing You
Post is included in group: Tech Corner
Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: Real Estate Technology
Post is included in group: Gadgets, Tools, & Extras

89 Comments on Get a WiKi - With Just One Clicky

JUL

We all use a wikipedia here in da south

WIKIPEDIA IS OKAY BUT SOMETIMES THE FACTS ARE NOT ACCURATE- SINCE THEY ARE UPDATED BY VIEWERS.

ALL THE BEST

KEEP ON BLOGGING

BILL

Brad,

When you think that there is no surprised coming, and you pretty much know what to expect, you come with something absolutely great.

The best part is that we should have figured it out ourselves, nbeing familiar with Wkipedia and Wikitravel, and still, you surprised us again

THanks

Brad,

Thanks for the post. Great information. Worthy of a bookmark and featured selection.

Hi Brad...I want it, I want it, I want it!

What did you say it is? What does it do? Will I ever be able to figure it out?

Oh, forget it, I don't really care all I know is I want it. If you say it is a good thing, I want it!

Kate

P.S. Does that give you any idea what bad shape I'm in with this AR addiction thing?

Hi Brad...I have it.

Kate

What's the PB stand for? Now all I can think of sandwich... which is missing the jelly! =P

Kate - you are having way too much fun, now was that a quicky or what? lol!~ You're going to love it!! Now create some really cool content, add a link to your Blog, and get others contributing and bringing even more value to it. It's Very cool!!

JUL

Brad, Great work in getting this set up! I am going to check out the wiki this evening. I look forward to seeing more of your envelope pushing!

This is great stuff Brad. I agree with Bill, that Wiki is not all accurate because of the subjectivity due to it being so easily edited by who knows who. But what the heck, who cares if it brings in the google juice and the great linking from a great page rank of 8! That is one great linking strategy:)

Ken - Now you need to get and share one of your own now, I think it blows the wikipedia away! IMO... :-)

Bill - I totally agree, because there are so many contributing and nothing stopping them, it's going to have inaccuracy and inconsistancy, the very reason you should create one of your own and enforce that quality control that you don't have with a wikipedia. Have you taken a look at all the features and functions of a wiki? There is some very cool things you can do with one of these, or many of them if you choose. Give it a try, let me k ow what you think Good or Bad. :-)

Jon - these wiki's have some powerful tools:

RSS Feeds, Widgets, Upload Documents, Photos, Videos, Collaborate with others (you choose) post events, add maps, create community and neighborhood chats, add links, provide downloadable documents and files, it's nothing like the wikipedia. There's a ton more I haven't even discovered on there yet! Take a serious look at it, I think you'll be very pleased! Enjoy, and thanks for the nice comment. :-)

William - thanks, I'm honored you think so. :-)

Lisa - Yes, PB and Wiki, it's better than jelly or banana's! lol~ You better grab yourself one of those PB&W's and a glass of milk, you're in for a big surprise!! I bet you'll even have more than one. haha! :-)

Hi Brad, I just set a wiki, called, San Diego Real Estate wiki for consumers to learn about life in San Diego and about the Buying and Selling of Real Estate In San Diego. Now what,lol.

Jonathan - are you just commenting to get some points here or what? lol~ You know me, pushy, pushy, pushy! haha. Looking forward to our trip to San Francisco next week, I put an "Event Map" over on the wiki. :)

Hi Katerina - when you say wiki, I think you're referring to the wikipedia, the wiki is way different, I think you'll find it to be a fun and wonderful tool, just make sure you read the disclaimer in this post. By exploring, and thinking it through for a bit, I'll say this: I'm excited and can't wait to see how someone like you and Nestor will use this. You can even get your little assistant in the office involved. I Bet he'd love some of the widgets you can add. :)

William - That's an awefully long URL, you want me to tell you what to do with it? lol~ Enjoy my friend, enjoy!

Event Map! Cool. I must find it. Hope to meet you next week. I now have a bare naked real estate wiki (and I'm not talking dirty).

Brad, now I'm just going to have to try it out. Whenever my friend Brad speaks...I listen!

Actually I was thinking "Self, why did you click on Brad's post? You have stuff to do and now all you want to do is set up a PBWiki, and you don't even know how to do that or really what it is!"

You're a dangerous man Brad Andersohn;-)

Thank you for this great tip. I can't wait to try it. I will check out your link.

Brad,

I am going to have to really check this one out. I have some time today to do just that. So many new things to try and so little time to do it.

Thank you sir for all of the helpful information.

Don R.

Brad, glad things have calmed down a bit and you had time to get your creative juices going. This will be fun and a challenge. Right now, I"m so swamped with the makeover2takeover contest, no time to play in the rain. But, this looks like fun !

Great idea, Brad! I have absolutely NOTHING else to do! ;) Thanks for the great info and I am off to check it out!

You got my attention. I'll be studying this. Thanks. Lenn

Brad, done, thanks... don't fully understand it, but done none the less.

Brad,

I signed myself up for it but I wonder how accurate they are...after all anyone can go in and edit them. I tried to fine mine but it's out there somewhere.

Brad, thank you!

Brad - thanks for the idea. Some day i'll get all the things done that you've already mentioned, but by then you will have 100 more. Keep it up, we need fresh ideas.

Hey Brad,

I don't really get Wiki's. I'm guessing kind of like Squidoo? Just another link and info out there?

BUT, Thanks for the tip. ;0) Always appreciated.

Hey Brad checked out your Wiki and it looks great. Hey wait a second that doesn't sound too clean does it - LOL

Cool idea, Brad. I use Wikipedia all the time (yes, I know it is different) and read of wikis I have found. My onw...how neat. Now to find the time to maintain it. The list of things just keeps getting longer.

Jeff

I have used Wiki for a number of years now. While you have to be cautious of the information that you utilize from it, it can be very helpful. I'm doing my wiki now.

Thanks for the informaton about Wiki's and I look forward to learning more about them. And yes I too get excited about all the cool things, sometimes I am not sure where I want to go first!!!

Ok, I created one - now what? I am trying to use this for my company - not a specific realtor.

Brad why hasn't this gone featured yet? LOL no, wikis are cool things...I haven't had time to mess around with them yet...I am sure in time I will wiki myself!

Brad, My wheels are turning with this one. I agree that it is going to take some thought & planning on ways to use it best.

Ok - for some who still aren't clear on the wiki, this is what it is by definition:

What Is A Wiki?

The simplest online database that could possibly work.

Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.

Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself. Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound and subtle effects on Wiki usage.

Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by nontechnical users.

Here's a Historical Note.
The first ever wiki site was created for the Portland Pattern Repository in 1995. That site now hosts tens of thousands of pages.

How can I use a wiki? Here are some ideas. A wiki might be perfect for you if...

* You're tired of waiting for Brad to help set you up - haha
* You want to increase office engagement using a safe online wiki
* You're tired of complicated solutions that nobody uses
* You want a no-hassle way to showcase your agents or staffs work online
* You want to eliminate excuses of lost paperwork or assignments
* You want a central place for your group to collaborate
* You want one place to put your files and thoughts so you can access them anywhere
* You want a partner or business to share best practices on collaboration

Who uses the Wiki and How should You use it? Here are some links to how others are using the wiki as a tool and resource for their companies, their communities, the news etc. Hopefully this will give you some ideas and direction on how to implement and use your wiki.

See How Inman News Use a Wiki

APQC defines a complete taxonomy of business on PBwiki

CafePress.com Chooses PBwiki For Enterprise Wikis

Corporate Training Using PBwiki Helps RMC Grow In a Down Market

DePaul University Selects PBwiki for Distance Learning

Design Commission Gets $2,000/month in Productivity Gains Using PBwiki

Growing a Business with PBwiki

University of Wisconsin & PBwiki help troops in Iraq escape attack

Journalists at Common Ties Organize their Company with PBwiki

Reducing Email Volume: Kiva Case Study

Effective Conference Planning - NE2007

There are also some video tutorials at PBwiki that help make it much clearer on what you need to think about as you build your wiki. Have a great week..I mean wiki. :-))

Susie - looking forward to finally meeting you. It's ok if your wiki is undressed right now, you can clothe it when you figure out what style you want it to be. :-)

Linda - try it out, I thik you'll like it. I was really stoked when I saw all the features and tools I could add. I even uploaded a google webmasters pdf file, don't think anyone has found that one yet, it's like a golden egg in my wiki! lol~

Brad, NOW I know who laid that golden egg! LOL

Thanks Brad this is the first quickie in the afternoon I've had in quite some time.

Thanks for the post Brad, I will check it out and figure out how to make it work in my business.

Brad - Many thanks. This looks like a great tool.

Glad I just found this...will check it out. Between Brian Brady raising the bar on Linkedin and Wiki's it looks like a fun weekend!

Brad, I don't even try to keep up with you. You are such an incredible source of info, especially for us newbies. I bookmarked it and will try to go figure it out in the next few days. Thanks as always!

Many of my edu-friends on Twitter have been making their own WIKIS - I bet this is what they are talking about.

Adding to my list... thanks Brad!

JUL

Well, i subscribe to your blog so I can go back & read your posts at leisure - They take more time because they make me think!!!!!

I love this idea because I can incorporate in the local blog I hope to create. BUT it would concern me that anyone could post to it. I would be worried about some inappropriate content making its way in. Even if you edit once a day - that's way too long if someone does misuse it.

Nonetheless, i am going to sign up. I can't help myself!!!

OK Brad - I have implimented my; ready - fire - aim methodology to the wiki. I made it now I'll just have to figure out how to use it. If I have things straight from watching the video we can use this almost like a communal site to share ideas - is that right? Well you can check out what I have so far - not much but it is a start.

Staging Wiki

If you need help with your new PBwiki check out these great resources.

PBwiki FAQ

PBwiki community forums

PBwiki Blog

Maybe you want some ideas on how to begin.
Here are a few of the basics to help you get started.

Create pages and upload files

Add interactive plugins to your wiki

Invite others to your wiki

See best practices for creating a collaborative wiki

Safety and security PBwiki provides enterprise-grade security for over one-third of the Fortune 500.

PBwiki industry-leading security practices

Advanced topics

Demos and examples

It may be helpful to see how others are using PBwiki. Here are some great demos that show you how some other PBwiki users have set up their site.

PBwiki examples

OK Brad,

You talked me into joining, now I have a new learning curve!!!

Maureen - great job, now use some of the links in the comment above to really get your AR Homestagers Wiki rockin and rollin. Stck to the Ready Aim Fire method for best results! lol~ There are many ways to use the wiki. Just your team, maybe just your office or company. Home stagers all over the country could collaborate, maybe just a neighborhood that want to discuss Homeowners info, community events, planning commissions, just get creative and think of ALL the ways this could be used, and you're not limited to just one either. There is a fee if you get more than 3 or 4 people involved, but that's a choice individuals will have to make on their own. I like where you're going with yours.... :-)

Brad,

Thanks for the info. Wiki is something I have linked to, but haven't set up a page yet. It is really something I hadn't thought about. Definitely will be something I look into soon!

Hey Brad, I just signed up to make sure I get a good username but will have to put it off for a little bit. At first glance, it seems a lot overwhelming and I already have to play catch up with learning how to do other stuff you've taught.

Thanks for the info Brad.

JUL

Thanks for the info Brad, I will have to check it out latter today!

A quickie wiki with just one clicky. Cute! But this quickie is going to take longer than I have this morning to figure out. TTFN :)

I'm glad to see that many of you are taking your time and considering the different options on how to use a wiki in your business, your online presence, and your community. I added many links above that really make it much clearer on how to use the wiki and what others have done using a wiki successfully. I hope they help.

JUL

Awesome Brad! - keep the great stuff coming!

Allways looking for more information

Let's call that the "cool tool of the day!" Thanks for enlightening us.

Kathy - there's nothing better than a quicky with a wiki in just one clicky. Do take your time, and discover the best ways to use your wiki, trust and believe me, there are many. :-)

now you've done it...one more thing to add to my to-do list! thanks for the post,

JUL

dude! i've been away from my computer for a while...how in the world do you guys find all this information! way too cool!

Michael - that's it, blame it all on me! lol~ I just wrote it, you're the one that read it and feel compelled to take action....and I think it's a great idea that you do. :-)) Sorry to give you more on the To-Do list my friend.

John - that'll teach you to be away from your computer for any length of time! haha :-)

Brad - another site and task for me To Do list! I'll never be able to say, "I have nothing to do."

JUL

Wow! Fun post and a really cool idea for a 95' day! Thanks! Great post. Already signed us up. Can't wait to see what we do with it.

JUL

Brad, who would have thought a wiki could be the answer. You the man...

JUL

Brad, I am going to have to agree with Kate on this one.

"I don't really care all I know is I want it. If you say it is a good thing, I want it!"

I now have one more bookmark to add to my other 150 I haven't had time to decifer yet. You guys are right, this AR thing is very addicting, but I love all the info.

Very nice, Brad

Thanks

Thank you for your post. I've read it as well as many of the comments. I'll check it out!

Thanks for this post. when i first joined AR I used yor tips on signing up and learning to blog and this is yet another great tool to expand my presence. I have really enjoyed all of activerain's resources but especially the numerous tips and tricks of the trade that you have posted and I look forward to more!

-Russell

JUL

Sharon - there will never come a time where you have nothing else to do, let's face it, we just need to add a couple more hours to each day! lol~

Fisher and Company - I know you will find multiple uses for a tool like this. The wiki is becoming a very common addition to many of the Top sites around the world.

Paul - who would have thought a wiki would ever be anything we could or would use in our business. Hope you get to put it to good use for your business, personal or community.

Troy - those bookmarks should keep you busy for quite some time, or haunt the heck out of you!! lol~ :-)

Bo & Jon - glad you enjoyed the post, hope you enjoy and benefit from the wiki even more!

Russell - thanks for that flattering comment. I am honored that my Blog has been a useful tool for you. I hope to continue writing and bringing value to readers and friends like yourself. It's a great feeling knowing that our efforts are effective and helping people. This is my passion in the rain, helping people. What goes around, certainly comes back around. Thanks you. :-)

JUL

Thanks Brad, I am going to go check it out. It looks like a really cool tool with lots of good features.

talk about Web 2.0 on steriods

JUL

Linda - a very cool tool with more features and benefits than I could put into this post. Doesn't help when I'm trying to shorten these Blog posts of mine! lol~

Jay - this may just be WEB 2.5... :-)

Brad, thanks for the info. I have bookmarked about 20 of your blogs.. very good info

JUL

Thanks Thomas - I'll be doing a post later about "Social Bookmarking" a really cool and neat tool for doing exactly that. Makes the whole bookmarking thing much more fun and manageable.