9 August 2009:  MediaWiki Review by the Rich Sage

I’ve talked extensively about using the free resources available on the Internet to setup a business, and make money online.  There is no better place than the Internet to setup a business where for $100 or less you can get up and going doing what you love.

In order to do that there are several software packages that I can recommend.  You’re probably using several of them without even knowing… IE8 or FireFox for browsing, and LAMP –Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP… They are all free and awaiting your great idea!

Now I’d like to add another:  MediaWiki.  I am sure you’ve also used Mediawiki without knowing it.  Ever visit wikipedia.org?  Then you’ve used wikimedia software.  It’s a WIKI, and here’s what you can do with a wiki running:

1. Allow a community to contribute materials.

2. Allow a community to edit, update and control the quality of edited pages.

3. Allow a community to benefit from material added.

wikipedia

This is why I want to introduce you to WIKI software, when I continue…

The Benefits of using WIKI Software for your community:

• If you use forum software, you’ll have to spend a lot of time to ‘police’ the spam and make your own contribution.
• If you use Wordpress or just a CMS that runs a website, you might have to input most of the materials/updates.
• In the middle, with a nice fit is WIKI software, which many corporations use to run internal communities –usually on an intranet, because the “closed community” can maintain such software easily and collaborate rather easily.

I’ve decided to run the software for the BiiG Directory (biig.com) and Savepedia(TM) –the wiki software creates a nice fit that is easy to maintain, yet allows the community to update as necessary.

There is another incredible benefit of a Wiki:

mediawiki

One of the most valuable assets with CMS type of software (Content Management Systems) is the ability to use third-party addons –or plugins.  In the case of MediaWiki, you find hundreds, many of which are listed here.  You’ll find everything from Google Adsense plugins to sitemaps –simply by uploading the software to an “extensions” folder and then referring to it via a “config” file.

I would not say the setup and editing is as easy as Wordpress.  Not sure IF anything can be that easy.  But, Wiki –Mediawiki is almost as easy.  Just a little bit knowledge about php files, CSS and editing a bit of code, and you’ll be an expert in no time.

So, you want user generated content that does not change by the minute.  Want to avoid spam, like the plague?  Want to use dependable software to get all this done?  Then there is no other software (CMS) than Mediawiki that I can recommend for the job.

Success with you Wiki — been waiting years just to say that.  Come to think of it, I’ll name my next dog “Wiki”.  Cool! 

Carpe Diem,
Rich Sage