Wiki

A wiki is a website whose content can be edited by anyone.

History
In 1994, Ward Cunningham invented wiki software to the knowledge base that ran on his company's website at c2.com. The "wiki went public" in March 1995 (this date is used in anniversary celebrations of the wiki's origins). c2.com was the first "true" wiki. He chose "WikiWikiWeb" as the name based on his memories of the "Wiki Wiki Shuttle" at Honolulu International Airport, and because "wiki" is the Hawaiian word for "quick".

Many other wiki applications and websites appeared over the next five years. In the meantime, WikiWikiWeb, now known as "WardsWiki", evolved as features were added to the software and as the growing body of users developed a unique "wiki culture". By 2000, WardsWiki had developed a great deal of content outside its original stated purpose, which led to the spinoff of content into other sites, most notably MeatballWiki.

Wikipedia, a free content encyclopedia, was launched in January 2001 and quickly became the most popular wiki, which it remains to this day. Its meteoric rise in popularity (it entered the top ten most popular sites in 2007) played a large part in introducing wikis to the general public. There now exist at least hundreds of thousands of wiki websites, and they have become increasingly prevalent in corporations and other organizations.