Wikipedia

Wikis? A meme? It’s more likely than you think.

An internet meme, according to Know Your Meme is:

Any relatively popular idea that spreads primarily on the internet from one source to another in what appears to be a contagious fashion.

Wikis fit the description. They are known by many, have tons of derivatives, have been parodied, and have changed over time.

WikiWikiWeb: The First Wiki

WikiWikiWeb was the first wiki application ever created. It was created in 1994. It was unique in it’s open source code, meaning anyone could edit it.

The word Wiki comes from the Hawaiian word for quick. The name came from a Hawaiian airport shuttle, Wiki Wiki Shuttle.

Learn more about Open Source content here.

Wikipedia: The Most Influential Wiki

In 2001, a man named Jimmy Wales created Wikipedia.An open-source online encyclopedia that anyone could edit.
Wikipedia has now grown to be huge, and nearly all-encompassing. Wikipedia now consists of many small wiki communities, such as Wikiquote, and Wikinews.

Wikipedia even has it’s own OS-Tan, Wikipe-tan.

Functions of Wikis

The main function of a wiki is to be an open source encyclopedia for one subject. Despite this, there are many wiki’s that act a hub for an online community.

Parodies

The participatory systems built into the Wiki standard that Wikipedia had created proved that Wikis could be useful in generating massive results from teams of participants, making the concept highly popular.
Because Wikipedia was not only popular and useful, but also open source, creating derivative works based on Wikipedia’s source code was easy. There was a low barrier of participation making the wiki format highly exploitable. People created new wikis on a wide variety of special subjects, fields, and interests. Early on, there was much being said about what was being called “The Wiki-Wiki Web”.

Encyclopedia Dramatica

One of the most well-known parody wikis is Encyclopedia Dramatica, which is not only a wiki specializing in covering the culture and events of 4chan, but something of a parody of wikis themselves. Rather than being a source of truthful information and source citing, the articles and the voice with which the articles are written take on the voice of a highly cynical, highly offensive, possibly basement-dwelling, but often hilarious idiot/genius. This is a voice that not only echoes the collective voice of 4chan, but continually influences it. ED as a whole is a goldmine of lulz. That is not an endorsement; much of the content is very likely to offend you. But the articles are written for the intent of bringing lulz because they are written from a standpoint that can only be appreciated after much lurking.

References

• See: Encyclopedia Dramatica article about Encyclopedia Dramatica
• See: Wikipedia Article about Encyclopedia Dramatica
• See: Uncyclopedia article about Encyclopedia dramatica

Uncyclopedia and wiki) is a wiki that is a general parody of Wikipedia that also makes reference to many internet memes, but not from the same standpoint or standards as ED. Unlike ED, it is not solely representative of 4chan. Jokes from various online communities and other media are present.

References

• See: Uncyclopedia
• See: Wikipedia article about Uncyclopedia
• See: Encyclopedia Dramatica article about Uncyclopedia

Lulz About Wikis

Wikipedia has been the target of many jokes, even from within itself.

See also: [citation needed]

Wikia

Prior to 2004, other helpful wikis were scattered across the internet. And then came Wikia. Wikia is a wiki hosting service. Jimmy Wales was involved in the creation of Wikia. Many existing wiki’s were transferred over to Wikia, though many still remain independent. It is difficult to ascertain just how many wiki’s are on Wikia and how many are not.

A collection of just a few Wikia based wiki logos.

[List of all Wikia wikis]

Google Insights

Know Your Meme

Although the first incarnation of knowyourmeme.com was a single page within the Rocketboom wiki, Know Your Meme as it is today is a new type of collaborative knowledge base that is not a wiki. Instead, there is a submissions process by which meme entries are reviewed by staff in order to ensure accuracy and and a certain degree of objectivity. Although Know Your Meme is about memes and highly influenced by the various bits of internet culture researched, confirmed meme entries are to be written neither in favor nor out of favor of the memes presented.

Anyone may create a new entry about a meme, and editing to meme entries is reserved for the user who creates the meme, and the site admins, although editing privileges may be granted to additional users who wish to edit.

Other Notable Wiki’s

LyricWiki

Lyric wiki is the largest Wikia wiki.

Wikianswers

The wiki equivilent of Yahoo Answers and other such sites.

WOWwiki

The World of Warcraft wiki. Notable for being the largest Wikia wiki based on one subject.

TV Tropes

A non Wikia wiki, it is unique in what it covers.