We believe that the success of Davis Wiki is the result of the vision we had as well as the considerable effort we put into bringing that vision to life. We also believe that this type of success is replicable, but it is by no means easy or necessarily obvious. We see similarities in the widespread adoption of blogs as a new medium. Although the concept has been around since 1994 and many users keep online journals, there are few examples of successful blogs as we know them today, and it took many years and many pioneering efforts as well. than the creation of specialized tools for blogs to establish themselves. like a new, different medium. Wikis were invented in 1994, and it took until 2001 for the first truly revolutionary project (Wikipedia) to be created, and several more years for it to achieve significant success. Many community wikis look to Wikipedia for guidance and attempt to follow in its footsteps. However, we believe that local wikis are something radically different and that the Wikipedia model is not the right approach. It is understandably difficult for new community wikis to reject the principles that have worked so well for the world's largest wiki, and to this day, Davis Wiki is one of the few successful local wikis that serve as an example of a better model for local wikis. communities. To address the two specific examples of wikis, there are clear differences between their approach to building a community resource and what we have done at Davis as well as what we are proposing. The most glaring difference, even at first glance, is that these two wikis use standard, commercially available Media Wiki software. This software is general purpose and, although very popular, is not well suited to a local community wiki. In contrast, Davis W...... middle of article... Each local wiki should grow naturally to serve the specific needs and interests of the local community. While it is useful to learn from other communities, it is a mistake for a new wiki to try to copy the content or organizational structure of a mature, successful wiki. Different content types and organizational paradigms will be appropriate in different communities, based on geography, language, culture, demographics, and the individual talents and interests of contributors. It is important to let the character and values ​​of the local community permeate the local wiki. Over the past few years, we have addressed all of these points in conversations with community leaders and in various interviews. For a good outside perspective on what made Davis Wiki successful, we recommend reading the Neiman Journalism Lab interview or one of the other articles attached..