# Tell me why you like wikis.
Wiki, briefly, are the hottest thing in Social Software right now. All this “friendster” stuff is important, but it’s just a ruse. People don’t see the real revolution that wiki represents. Wiki is terribly important because it’s the first public communication system that is DOCUMENT based. Instant Messaging, E-Mail, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Online Message Boards, all this stuff-
It’s all MESSAGE based.
It’s a “quick signal.” You send a message to someone, and they do something different than they would have done before. “Someone.” Sometimes even a group of people. Maybe you’re on a mailing list, or something. After the message is done, it’s spent. It’s indexed by google, and someone looking for something can find your message amidst a sea of messages, and try to apply it to their situation.
But wiki is totally different. It’s document based.
The fundamental element of a wiki is the document. It’s not a one-off message. (Though, you CAN attach messages to the bottom of a wiki page. Very common.) It’s something that people can use, and refer back to, time and time again.

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