Happy Birthday – The Wiki Celebrates its Sweet 16

The wiki turns16 today. How far it has come since that day 16 years ago when Ward Cunningham created a Web page that anyone could edit.

Today, we see the evidence of that pioneering work in all facets of the Web and the emerging app ecosystem.

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In the 1990s, there was a vision of the read/write Web. But most sites were static with little or no interactivity.

The wiki helped transform the Web into an experience that is as much about writing to a page as it is about reading it.

As I write this, billions of messages are being written on Web sites and apps of all varieties. That’s the read/write Web and what we see as the norm for mobile apps. In may ways, those developments represent the significance of this birthday.

So, how can we celebrate?

• Edit the WikiBirthday page! Add your name and a birthday note. Do so and you’ll get a nice little thank you from Ward Cunningham.
• Edit the WikiBirthday Facebook page.
• Tweet a happy birthday note.
• Write a blog post.
• Tell your wiki story.

Here’s mine:

I learned about RSS in 2003 and decided to do a Webcast called RSS Winterfest. I soon discovered Socialtext and learned about the power of the wiki and the potential combination with RSS. Ross Mayfield and the Socialtext team became a big part of that event. We created a wiki that we used as a way to live edit the discussions taking place in the webcast. Roland Tanglao helped edit in real-time as we discussed the potential of RSS in the two-day event with Dave Winer, Robert Scoble, Jeff Jarvis and a host of others. That was a defining time for me and has since led me on a host of adventures.

Thank you, Ward. It’s a great day to celebrate!

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