Seattle company begins beta testing wiki websites featuring innovative technology that makes it easy for anyone to contribute what they know.

March 6, 2006 – Wetpaint (www.wetpaint.com) today launched 8 websites built with a beta version of their next-generation wiki platform for collaborative publishing. Aimed at significantly improving the ease of use compared to exiting wiki platforms, Wetpaint makes it possible for anyone, regardless of their technical abilities, to add content, make edits, write articles, and leave comments directly on the sites they visit.

“By making it as easy to contribute to websites as it is to use Microsoft Word, we think Wetpaint will open the floodgates to true collaborative thinking,” say Ben Elowitz, CEO of Wetpaint. “When real people with real experiences share their wealth of knowledge, then the sites they create can offer insight and information not available anywhere else. It’s simply the case of 10,000 heads being better than one.”

A wiki, as defined by Wikipedia (which is itself currently one of the largest wiki websites), is “a type of website that allows users to easily add and edit content and which is especially suited for collaborative writing.” While use of wikis has been growing, mainstream acceptance has been hampered by ease of use issues which impact the quality of wiki site content.

“Wetpaint makes it much easier for people to contribute to a wiki, and that leads to two healthy trends,” Elowitz proposes. “First, the number of potential contributors increases significantly. And second, when there are more actual contributors, the value and quality of the information improves through breadth, depth, and even accuracy.”

“Ironically, it’s very hard work to make things as easy as Wetpaint has made it with their new platform,” said Chris Shipley, co-founder and Global Research Director at Guidewire Group. “With a combination of the latest Web 2.0 technologies, they have built a platform which is truly conducive to helping offline communities find a place to express their collective wisdon on the Web.”

The Wetpaint platform includes a number of key features such as the EasyEdit toolbar which can be used to edit and format text and see the changes in real time. Wetpaint also improves the wiki experience by making it easy to add whole new pages, photos, and links. Finally, because community is key to collaboration, Wetpaint users can easily track pages and posts of interest and interact with others on the site that share their passions, interests or knowledge through discussion boards.

The sites launched today were each pre-populated with information that visitors will be able to augment with their own knowledge and experiences. Wetpaint will be monitoring the sites to gather user feedback to optimize user experience for a more formal launch later this year. At that point, anyone will be able to set up their own wiki website free of charge on any topic using Wetpaint technology. With templates and step-by-step instructions, Wetpaint will enable users to focus on the things that drive their passion – whether Pomeranians, Porsches, or pandemics – no coding required.

The sites launched today using Wetpaint include:

• wikiFido.com – A site for dog lovers who want to share their love, knowledge, photos, and experiences raising the perfect pet.
• wikiXbox360.com – Game reviews and tips about the hottest Xbox 360 games.
• wikiCancer.org – Support for those in the community of cancer (diagnosed, survivors, and supporters) who want to find more from others who’ve dealt with the disease.
• wikiBirdFlu.org – News and opinions about the latest developments and science on this potential pandemic.
• wikiDemocrats.com and wikiGOP.com – Two sites where political junkies can track the chances of potential 2008 presidential candidates.
• wikiSandbox.com – A blank wiki where users can try out Wetpaint before moving on to the other Wetpaint sites.
• wikiFeedback.com – A forum where visitors can share their feedback about Wetpaint and the demonstration sites.