The creators of Menlo Park-based Wikia.com have launched a new “wiki” for travelers to share information about places they’ve visited.
World.wikia.com differs from traditional travel guides in that users can create and edit its content, site founder Bill Kaufman said. Visitors to the site can edit information on any page they wish, or create new pages to address a topic that hasn’t yet been covered.
It also has the advantages of being free and containing updated information contributed by a number of users, Mr. Kaufman said.
World.wikia.com is one of over 1,500 Web sites based on Wikia.com. Each “wiki” addresses a specific topic, ranging from travel to specific TV shows to academic fields.
It was founded by James Wales, who also created Wikipedia.com, an encyclopedic collection of single articles.
An adaptable travel guide
World.wikia.com is made up of some 1,000 pages edited by over 50 users, Mr. Kaufman said.He likened World.wikia.com to a home page from which users can browse through geographic regions and learn a wide variety of information about each place. The site also allows users to provide tips about traveling to niche audiences, such as travelers with pets and children, or lesbian and gay travelers.
“The community will determine which direction these articles and projects will go, but the purpose of the wiki is to focus on anything a traveler would find relevant,” Mr. Kaufman said.
The home page for San Francisco, for instance, features photos of the city, information about politics and transportation, lists of local schools and newspapers, and brief descriptions of other Bay Area cities. It also contains a list of recent and upcoming events.
However, the site is far from complete. The Golden Gate Bridge is the only listing under “Bay Area Landmarks,” and currently there are no entries for concert venues, bars or nightclubs.
Edit away
That, Mr. Kaufman said, is where users come in. Before the site can become a viable source for travelers, it will need help from people who have visited or live in the cities listed on the page.“At this point, there are lots of holes in the content,” Mr. Kaufman said. “But that’s part of the attraction for some who want to be the first to add content to a wiki.”
Because the project is in the early stages of development, users can list pages that need work on the home page, as well as the cities that they found to be most complete.
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