World66 : A Different Route
A scan through Robin Good’s blog posts resulted in the discovery of a gem of website that goes by the name of World66.com. Based on the premise that “travellers are the most reliable source of information for other travellers”, this website makes admirable use of wikis to provide a publishing platform for any traveller who wishes to share his pearls of wisdom with others !
World66.com is one of the most complete travel resources on the internet, thanks to more than 40.000 articles on 10.000 destinations all over the world.
The company was founded by Douwe and Richard Osinga in 1999, went through the wild years of the Internet hype and came out with its soul untouched. Indeed, after a few years as a rather closed content project without a proper licence, it has now joined the open content community publishing its articles under the Creative Commons Licence.
I had written about wikis in an earlier post, when I had first chanced upon the concept. I think this technology will make eminent sense for people in all kinds of situations. I can clearly foresee the need for a similar platform for folks seeking the truth in medicine and health, for one. There’s still no easy way to cut through all the hype put out there by pharmaceutical majors, for someone wanting to know how a particular drug works or what side effects it has to offer. And that’s just one example !
Looking forward to more such discoveries…
P.S. Of course, I couldn’t resist contributing a short note to the website on how to Get Around the city of Mumbai, based on my own experiences growing up in the metropolis.
I have only used the Lonely Planet Guides to aid me in my travel.They used to post updates on their website between two successive versions of their famous guidebooks,which could be downloaded and printed. They departed from this practice in the last few years by having users interact in a forum called the ThornTree.In this forum one could get updated information on a destination as well as answers .The content is open and available for free.It accomplishes objectives far better than the publishers could have imagined through their periodical updates.This trend paves the way for a co-operative experience on the net that can expand the potential of the net as it continually evolves.I will be visiting World66 regularly.
Thanks for the link. Check out http://www.wikitravel.org for a similar project.
further to my earlier posting in this thread I add that at the website of Lonely Planet one cannot edit content yet post freely.to that extent the site is not on the lines of a wiki.while thinking about this idea i wonder whether this concept is quixotic and vulnerable to anarchy.i read the argument about users of this movement outnumbering those who wish to disrupt it.I like the idea and would welcome its growth and do not intend to be a naysayer having shared my concerns.
Salute a tutti