GNU Free Documentation License (details), Creative Commons Attribution (details)
About the author
A former San Franciscan and dot-com refugee who moved to Montreal in 2002, Evan Prodromou started Wikitravel with wife Michele Ann Jenkins in July of 2003. He's a member of the MediaWiki development group and an administrator on en: Wikipedia, where he's participated since 2002. Since acquisition by Internet Brands, Inc., he helps guide the strategy and direction of Wikitravel and World66.
Abstract
Travel guidebooks are functional reference works that provide critical information for people on the road. I will discuss the importance of an Open Content model for travel guides, and contrast this genre of work with other references. I'll review the history of Open Content travel guides and discuss the creation of the two main successful projects, Wikitravel and World66, and the importance of wiki technique to those projects. I'll cover the challenges that the two projects have faced in their 3 years of development, focusing on the difficulties presented by applying Open Content wiki methods to travel. I'll further cover the partnership between the two sites announced in April of 2006, the commercial development of the travel wiki space, and what that has meant for the communities and the content they produce. Finally, I'll discuss what this partnership will mean for the two sites in the future, and what technological and community developments can be expected for Wikitravel and World66 in the coming year.
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GNU Free Documentation License (details), 
Creative Commons Attribution (details)
