Wikitravel

Infobox Website
name = Wikitravel



caption = The free travel guide
url = http://wikitravel.org/
commercial =
type = Wiki
language = 18 languages
registration =
owner = The copyright of the content is owned by the individual authors. The domain, server, and trademarks are owned by Internet Brands.
author = Evan Prodromou, Michele Ann Jenkins
launch date =
current status =
revenue =

Wikitravel is a Web-based project "to create a free, complete, up-to-date, and reliable worldwide travel guide." [ cite web |title=Wikitravel mainpage |publisher=Wikitravel.org |url=http://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page |accessdate=2008-07-03 ] Launched in July 2003 by Evan Prodromou and Michele Ann Jenkins, the Web site is based upon the wiki model, using the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license. In 2006, Internet Brands bought the trademark and servers and later introduced advertising to the website. Wikitravel received a Webby Award for Best Travel Website in 2007. That same year, Wikitravel's founders began Wikitravel Press, which publishes printed travel guides based on the Web site's content. The first print guides were released on February 1, 2008.

Description

Using a wiki model, Wikitravel is built through collaboration of "Wikitravellers" from around the globe. Articles can cover any level of geographic specificity, from continents to districts of a city. These are logically connected in a hierarchy, by specifying that the location covered in one article "is in" the larger location described by another. The project also includes articles on travel-related topics, phrasebooks for travelers, and suggested itineraries. Wikitravel is a multilingual project available in 18 languages, with each language-specific project developed independently. While the project uses the MediaWiki software, which is also used by Wikipedia, Wikitravel is not a Wikimedia project; it was begun and is operated independently.

History

Wikitravel was started in July 2003 by Evan Prodromou and Michele Ann Jenkins, inspired in part by Wikipedia. [ [http://wikitravel.org/en/Wikitravel:Milestones WikiTravel Milestones] ] Unlike Wikipedia, it uses the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license rather than the GNU Free Documentation License. Among other things, this more easily allows individuals, tourism agencies, etc., to make free reprints of individual pages. Although both Wikipedia and Wikitravel are free-content resources, because of the incompatible licenses, content cannot be freely copied between them. Wikitravel's different objectives have also resulted in different policies and content guidelines. For example, Wikitravel eschews a neutral-point-of-view requirement, as it is written from the point of view of a traveler and, instead, encourages editors to "be fair."

On April 20, 2006, Wikitravel announced that it and World66 — another open-content travel guide — had been acquired by Internet Brands, a publicly traded corporation. [cite press release | publisher = Internet Brands| date = 20 April, 2006 |title = Internet Brands Acquires Wikitravel And World66 Online Travel Guides| url = http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=27587&script=410&layout=-6&item_id=845378 ] The new owner hired Prodromou and Jenkins to continue managing Wikitravel as a consensus-based project. They explained that Internet Brands' long-term plan was for Wikitravel to continue to focus on collaborative, objective guides, while World66 would focus more on personal experiences and reviews. As a result, many authors of the German language community decided to fork the , which was released on December 10, 2006, as Wikivoyage. On April 1, 2008, Internet Brands added Google advertising to Wikitravel, with an opt-out procedure for registered users.

On May 1, 2007, Wikitravel received the Webby Award for Best Travel Website. [ [http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php#webby_entry_travel Webby Award] ]

On August 3, 2007, Prodromou, Jenkins, and long-time contributor Jani Patokallio started Wikitravel Press, a company that produces and sells print guidebooks based on material contributed to Wikitravel. The first Wikitravel Press guides, "Chicago" and "Singapore", were officially launched on February 1, 2008. [cite web | url=http://wikitravelpress.com/pr/20080201 | title=Wikitravel Press launches first printed Wikitravel guidebook| publisher=www.wikitravelpress.com|date=2008-02-01 |accessdate=2008-02-01] Content in these guidebooks is available under the same Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license that Wikitravel material is licensed under. [cite web | url=http://wikitravel.org/en/Wikitravel:3_August_2007 | title=Wikitravel:3 August 2007| publisher=www.wikitravel.org|date=2007-08-03 |accessdate=2008-01-30]

Milestones

* December 23, 2005 — 10,000 articles across all versions.
* June 11, 2006 — 10,000 articles on the English version.
* September 29, 2006 — 20,000 articles across all versions.
* April 20, 2007 — 30,000 articles across all versions.
* May 1, 2007 — Wikitravel wins Webby Award for Best Travel Website.
* May 27, 2007 — 15,000 articles on the English version.
* February 1, 2008 — publication of first printed Wikitravel Press guides.

References

External links

* [http://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page Wikitravel] ("English version")
* [http://wikitravelpress.com/ Wikitravel Press]
* [http://mycroft.mozdev.org/developer/devlist.html?email=winkywankywoo%40hotmail.com Wikitravel Search Plugin For Firefox]