Wikispaces+History+&+Background

= = =**Who is Wikispaces? **= The idea for Wikispaces originated in early 2005 with co-founder Adam Frey as he was looking for a way to organize a ski trip. He decided that there was a need for an easy-to-use system of organizing information on the Web. The idea expanded into a need to make the wiki tools "so simple that time is not wasted on getting technology to work, but wisely spent doing better things because of technology." (@http://bit.ly/7eS0ph)

Wikispaces is now owned and operated by [|Tangient LLC]. The operators are Eric Ablett, Dominick Bellizzi, James Byers, Sarah Cove, Adam Frey, Debbie Guskin, Jeff Hanke, Ryan Koopmans, Julie Newcomb, and Carole Snitzer.

Since early 2005 they have been dedicated to building the world's easiest to use wiki service by listening closely to the ever growing Wikispaces community. They now host millions of wikis for over five million people and have products designed for the smallest classroom and the world's largest corporations and institutions.

=What's Important to Wikispaces? =

Simplicity
Wikispaces' operators are firm believers that wikis can be revolutionary tools for building communities. But most wikis are very engineer-focused: hard to use, buried under busy user interfaces, full of features only a geek could love. Wikispaces is their attempt to build a wiki that's easy to use and easy to adopt for all kinds of audiences. They've kept the tool simple so that you can focus on building content, talking with other members, and growing your community.

Community
The majority of tools that exist to publish content on the Internet are either one-to-many (e.g. personal websites, blogs, news sites) or short-lived (forums / message boards, FAQs, etc.). Wikispaces gives groups the freedom to publish pages that are long-lived, regularly updated, and built by many contributors. Wikispaces give you the space to both publish and discuss content, without tangling the two together.

Openness
Wikispaces is built to work anywhere, anytime. All you need is a web browser and an Internet connection. Members can create pages and spaces without undue restrictions or rules. Guests can edit pages without creating an account. Wiki pages are fully internationalized, so you can contribute content in any language you like. Wikispaces takes care of hosting, backups, and upgrades so you don't have to. All of their services are free to try and we don't ask for any of your personal information up front. And their pricing is simple and clear.

Usability
Wikispaces is designed to be usable for everyone. They've built a visual editor that lets you see the layout and design of your page while you're editing it. No technical knowledge required. Wikispaces also lets you use wiki markup if you're so inclined. And we've made sure that Wikispaces is fast even in large communities with lots of activity.

**Sources:** http://www.wikispaces.com/about @http://bit.ly/7eS0ph = @http://www.ikiw.org/2006/06/20/a-conversation-with-adam-frey-co-founder-of-wikispaces/

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