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Seattle's wetpaint.com lets you make a wiki
07:32 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 27, 2008
KING
Wetpaint.com allows users to create their own wiki Web sites where anyone can come in and contribute.
SEATTLE – Are you frustrated that you can't find enough information online about Manolo Blahniks?
Trying to settle a bet between you and your buddy over which James Bond actor seduced which Bond girl, but find that searching the Web is fruitless?
A Seattle-based company lets you get down to the bottom of your favorite minutiae by giving you the chance to create your own social networking Web site to find the answers.
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Wetpaint.com allows you to build your own wiki – a Web site that will let any user freely create, add and subtract content - whether it's about chihuahuas, cats, clothing, The Commodores or anything else you have a passion for.
"It turns Myspace into our space," says wetpaint.com CEO Ben Elowitz about the comparisons to more traditional social networking sites. "We launched in 2006 with the idea of letting people publish together online."
Wetpaint.com was born out of tragic circumstances. In the spring of 2005, Marty Levin, one of the architects for Microsoft's early MSN efforts, died after 18 months fighting multiple myeloma. During his battle, Elowitz says Levin's friends were able to find plenty of facts online about the disease, but very little about the human experience and how people have dealt with it. Levin's friends created wikiCancer.com – a place for people to discuss their experiences about the disease and to share information.
About a year after Levin's death, wetpaint.com was born and has seen significant growth. Earlier this month, wetpaint unveiled a new feature called Wetpaint Injected, which allows its platform to be embedded into any Web site to increase user-generated content, including videos, photos and comments.
The most well-known wiki is Wikipedia, and while it's a great source of information, there's no guarantee it's accurate because anyone can edit it. On wetpaint, moderation tools allow users to collaborate and set permissions for users to edit, but there's still always that chance someone will put the wrong information on a site. Users can add links and even embed video, such as from YouTube or other sites. Elowitz says rights issues haven't really come into play yet.
Earlier this month, wetpaint unveiled a new feature called Wetpaint Injected, which allows its platform to be embedded into any Web site to increase user-generated content, including videos, photos and comments.
The types of wikis that can be built can be unique as a snowflake. In just one simple search on wetpaint's site, you'll see "The Battlestar Galactica Wiki," The China Earthquake Relief Fund, "Miley Cyrus Lovers," and even the Australian Parkour Team.
The initial service is free and wetpaint makes its profit by putting ads on the wiki sites.
Elowitz, a co-founder of internet diamond and jewelry retail giant Blue Nile, says traffic at wetpaint is growing by 20 percent per month. The company has raised $40 million in capital since its launch, which includes a $25 million infusion in venture financing announced earlier this month.
Finally, just days away from the opening of "Sex and the City," frustrated fans have a way to span the information superhighway to find out which Manolo Blahniks Carrie Bradshaw prefers.
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