You’ve heard of wikipedia right? (Please, please tell me you’ve heard of wikipedia.) Wikipedia has become so common, not everybody is familiar with the basic building block of wikipedia: the wiki.

Put simply, a wiki is a website with editable pages. No, not edible pages – edit-able pages.

Wikipedia itself is an encyclopedia with editable pages – which is why some folks have been worried about the accuracy of its content. (Something that has been debunked several times over.) A very active, passionate user community keeps the site up-to-date and relatively typo-free.

Thinking about the downfall of Encyclopedia Britannica, I wondered “Ah, the poor encyclopedia salesman. I wonder whatever happened to that profession?” My first impulse was to look it up on Wikipedia. I think I answered my own question.

But I digress! Wikipedia is, essentially, a giant community resource – and it has become hugely important. That’s precisely what other organizations use wikis for too – creating online resources.

Depending on your needs, a wiki can be as robust or as simple as you need it to be.

At Altered Esthetics our board uses a password-protected wiki to share notes, images, have forum discussions about upcoming shows, and archive information in one easily accessible space. It cuts down on emails and helps us keep track of conversations. It also promotes transparency among the board members and committees.

Our wiki is self-hosted so we had to do all the development work, but there are other wikis that you simply pay a monthly fee for, and it’s all set up for you. Some wikis like wikispaces.com are free for education groups.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to share information with others in your organization, a wiki could be a very useful tool. Of course, there are things to consider. Some people are more likely to get online than others – so if you’ve got folks in your organization that would be hesitant to use a new online tool, this might be harder to implement. Wikipedia is so successful because it’s regularly updated and heavily used. Regardless of the implementation costs, the more actively your organization uses a wiki or other document sharing system, the more likely it is to be a greater resource for your organization.

Jamie Schumacher is Bicycle Theory’s Internet Marketing & Nonprofit Strategist. She’s also our resident blogging and social media expert! To find out more about creating or improving your online experience, contact Bicycle Theory!