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Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Backpack = wiki for dummies?

I've just created a Backpack account and have done the initial look around, without trying to setup stuff yet. At first glance it seems to be a wiki for dummies. It has some of the basic wiki features, but it also has a sexy and easy to use interface. As far as I know it's based on Instiki, so it isn't really that surprising. If someone created a sexy interface for XWiki and made it more user friendly, they would beat backpack by having much more functionality. A more and more common business idea: take an interesting open source project and give it a sexy interface and make it user friendly.

Wiki for dummies is not necessarily a bad thing, on the contrary, it is what is needed. No matter how technically sexy and advanced your product is, it will never be a success if people cannot figure out how to use it.

UPDATE:
I've now tried to play around with all features they offer and I must say that I'm disappointed. If this solution becomes a success, then it will only be due to the fact that they've found the correct marketing approach to sell a wiki. If that happens, then all their users will move on to JotSpot or XWiki or some other more advanced solution. As a longtime wiki user I must admit that using the Backpack solution is frustrating and I really cannot be without some of the features other wikis provide.

I personally use XWiki (ledanois.xwiki.com) for both personal and business use. JotSpot is probably just as good, but since it is not open source I cannot install it at my clients. An open source solution that also exists in a hosted version is the only correct solution for my needs.

I guess the Backpack team will add more and more wiki features until they finally realize that the only correct solution is to provide a good ol' application wiki like JotSpot and XWiki. The only problem is that they will be way behind.

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17:08 | Permalink | Comments (4)

4 Comments:

  • lol you are blogging to fast!
    In the morning Backpack is the latest trend.
    In the evening it is outdated!

    ps: don't under estimate the power of marketing!

    Posted by Blogger Benjamin Francisoud, at 4/5/05 15:15

  • I did update the post, but I didn't change my opinion. Did I accidentally change the message?
    The last part was added to the post when I had tried the product, whereas the first was written when I had just looked around.

    Posted by Blogger Thomas, at 4/5/05 15:50

  • Backpack isn't a wiki. It's not about trying to be a wiki. It's a tool for normal people (people who don't know what a wiki is) to organize bits of data online. Comparing it to a wiki does it a disservice. If you need all sorts of advanced wiki functionality then Jot or Instiki is definitely the better answer for you.

    Posted by Anonymous Anonymous, at 13/5/05 21:09

  • Have you worked with wikis? How many wiki solutions have you tried? You seem to have the idea that a wiki is a very complex tool, but it doesn't have to be.

    The comparison of Backpack and wikis is rather relevant since Backpack is built upon the Instiki wiki solution. They've added very little functionality to the instiki platform, but they've made it easier to use -> wiki for dummies.

    Is Backpack "trying to be a wiki"? I have no idea and it's a rather difficult question since "a wiki" can be so many things.

    I still say: Built me a sexier interface to the more advanced functionalities in Jot or XWiki, and you've got a Backpack killer. You could however also go the other way and add more wiki features to Backpack :-)

    Posted by Blogger Thomas, at 15/5/05 12:49

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