PBwiki
Encyclopedia
PBworks is a commercial real-time collaborative editing (RTCE) system created by David Weekly, with Ramit Sethi
and Nathan Schmidt joining shortly thereafter as co-founders. Based in San Mateo
, California
, the company's original name stems from their belief that "making a wiki
is as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich". The company operates on a freemium
basis, with basic features being offered for free and more advanced features for a fee.
PBworks' investors include Mohr Davidow Ventures and the Seraph Group, as well as angel investors Ron Conway and Chris Yeh.
In June 2008 the company hired Jim Groff, a former employee of Oracle Corporation
and Apple Inc., for its new CEO
. David Weekly, the former CEO, remains its Chief Product Officer and Chairman.
, and their own server. David Weekly came up with the idea of providing easy-to-use privately hosted wiki
s through a website - which he named "PeanutButterWiki" - while co-hosting the first SuperHappyDevHouse
hackathon event in May 2005. Together with some programmer friends, Weekly quickly coded the first implementation of PBworks; the original beta test of PBworks was released for public comment on 31 May 2005.
The site was formally launched in June 2005, and within 48 hours, over 1000 wikis had been created. Today it contains over 1,000,000 wikis, 6.91 million pages of user content and 3.43 million user-uploaded files.
cluster, built on Debian
, PBworks uses its own proprietary software which is under continuing development. It added WYSIWYG
editing in early 2007, and limited HTML
source editing in 2008. Since 2009, the wiki is entirely HTML based, and original wiki markup language is no longer supported.
Users can create free basic wiki workspaces, or upgrade to a premium plan to access additional features. Workspaces can be public or private (only viewable by those who have been invited to join the workspace).
Premium workspaces offer extra features, including enhanced security management with secure HTTP, CSS
support and JavaScript
support, the ability to hide pages, more generous space allowances (unlimited for business accounts), and custom domain name
s; free wikis have a 2 GB
restriction, and a limited selection of color schemes.
Historically, PBworks focused on being simpler and easier-to-use than other solutions, but the company has been adding functionality.
In early 2008 the company launched PBworks 2.0, an improved version with a new layout, more granular security, and a more easily customizable color scheme.
In Fall 2008, PBworks Document Management Release added the ability to place (and permission) files in folders and a new wiki navigation system.
In Spring 2009, PBworks's Notification release added starred pages for selective notifications, a sidebar workspace navigator, and a simple mechanism for sharing page links with others.
Its Legal Edition release added features designed for law firms such as expanded security measures and a comprehensive audit log, while its Project Edition release added multi-workspace networks and project management tools such as tasks and milestones.
Its Campus Edition provided schools and school districts with an enterprise solution, with unlimited workspaces and a centralized Administrator Dashboard for managing them.
PBworks also launched a Mobile Edition in early 2009.
In Fall 2009, PBworks launched two major updates. In September, the Social Collaboration Update added social-networking-style user profiles and Twitter-style microblogging. In November, the Real-time Collaboration Update added integrated web-based chat (including group chat), live Facebook-style notifications, and the ability to share live edits with other users.
In early 2009, PBworks launched a Template Store for its business customers, which provides wiki/workspace templates for specific uses and industries.
described a legal firm which had transitioned to PBworks as a document management system
in order to cut their IT costs. Major companies using PBworks as a host for internal documents include CafePress.com
, Capgemini
, Deloitte, the Financial Times
, Kiva
, and Wideload Games
. Educational groups include the National Opinion Research Center
at the University of Chicago
, the University of Wisconsin–Madison
, Wayne State University
, and DePaul University
and University of Toronto
.
.
Ramit Sethi
Ramit Sethi is the author of the 2009 personal finance book I Will Teach You To Be Rich, a New York Times Bestseller, and the co-founder of PBWorks, a commercial wiki website.-Education:He attended Bella Vista High School in Fair Oaks, CA...
and Nathan Schmidt joining shortly thereafter as co-founders. Based in San Mateo
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the company's original name stems from their belief that "making a wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
is as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich". The company operates on a freemium
Freemium
Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services...
basis, with basic features being offered for free and more advanced features for a fee.
PBworks' investors include Mohr Davidow Ventures and the Seraph Group, as well as angel investors Ron Conway and Chris Yeh.
In June 2008 the company hired Jim Groff, a former employee of Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
and Apple Inc., for its new CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
. David Weekly, the former CEO, remains its Chief Product Officer and Chairman.
History
In 2005, most wiki software was overly complex for a layman to set up and manage, requiring an extensive knowledge of LinuxLinux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, and their own server. David Weekly came up with the idea of providing easy-to-use privately hosted wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
s through a website - which he named "PeanutButterWiki" - while co-hosting the first SuperHappyDevHouse
SuperHappyDevHouse
SuperHappyDevHouse is an international series of social events which organizers originally conceived as parties for hackers and thinkers. Founded May 29, 2005 by Jeff Lindsay and David Weekly , SHDH in Silicon Valley began by hosting 150 to 200 people every six weeks at rotating venues throughout...
hackathon event in May 2005. Together with some programmer friends, Weekly quickly coded the first implementation of PBworks; the original beta test of PBworks was released for public comment on 31 May 2005.
The site was formally launched in June 2005, and within 48 hours, over 1000 wikis had been created. Today it contains over 1,000,000 wikis, 6.91 million pages of user content and 3.43 million user-uploaded files.
Software and features
Hosted on an all-LinuxLinux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
cluster, built on Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
, PBworks uses its own proprietary software which is under continuing development. It added WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...
editing in early 2007, and limited HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
source editing in 2008. Since 2009, the wiki is entirely HTML based, and original wiki markup language is no longer supported.
Users can create free basic wiki workspaces, or upgrade to a premium plan to access additional features. Workspaces can be public or private (only viewable by those who have been invited to join the workspace).
Premium workspaces offer extra features, including enhanced security management with secure HTTP, CSS
Cascading Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics of a document written in a markup language...
support and JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
support, the ability to hide pages, more generous space allowances (unlimited for business accounts), and custom domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
s; free wikis have a 2 GB
Gigabyte
The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
restriction, and a limited selection of color schemes.
Historically, PBworks focused on being simpler and easier-to-use than other solutions, but the company has been adding functionality.
In early 2008 the company launched PBworks 2.0, an improved version with a new layout, more granular security, and a more easily customizable color scheme.
In Fall 2008, PBworks Document Management Release added the ability to place (and permission) files in folders and a new wiki navigation system.
In Spring 2009, PBworks's Notification release added starred pages for selective notifications, a sidebar workspace navigator, and a simple mechanism for sharing page links with others.
Its Legal Edition release added features designed for law firms such as expanded security measures and a comprehensive audit log, while its Project Edition release added multi-workspace networks and project management tools such as tasks and milestones.
Its Campus Edition provided schools and school districts with an enterprise solution, with unlimited workspaces and a centralized Administrator Dashboard for managing them.
PBworks also launched a Mobile Edition in early 2009.
In Fall 2009, PBworks launched two major updates. In September, the Social Collaboration Update added social-networking-style user profiles and Twitter-style microblogging. In November, the Real-time Collaboration Update added integrated web-based chat (including group chat), live Facebook-style notifications, and the ability to share live edits with other users.
In early 2009, PBworks launched a Template Store for its business customers, which provides wiki/workspace templates for specific uses and industries.
Usage
A number of business and corporations use PBworks to create private wikis for employees; one case study from CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
described a legal firm which had transitioned to PBworks as a document management system
Document management system
A document management system is a computer system used to track and store electronic documents and/or images of paper documents. It is usually also capable of keeping track of the different versions created by different users . The term has some overlap with the concepts of content management...
in order to cut their IT costs. Major companies using PBworks as a host for internal documents include CafePress.com
CafePress.com
CafePress, Inc. is an online retailer of stock and user-customized on demand products. CafePress, Inc. is headquartered in San Mateo, California, USA and its production facility is located in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2001, CafePress.com won the People's Voice Webby Award in the Commerce...
, Capgemini
Capgemini
Capgemini is a French global IT services company, one of the world's largest management consulting, outsourcing and professional services companies with a staff of 114,274 operating in 40 countries. It is headquartered in Paris and was founded in 1967 by Serge Kampf, the current chairman, in...
, Deloitte, the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, Kiva
Kiva (organization)
Kiva Microfunds is an organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to microfinance institutions in developing countries around the world and in the United States, which in turn lend the money to small businesses and students...
, and Wideload Games
Wideload Games
Wideload Games is an American game developer located in Chicago, Illinois.It was founded in 2003 by Alexander Seropian—the co-founder of Bungie and head behind the games Halo: Combat Evolved, Myth, and Marathon—and 6 other former Bungie Studios employees 3 years after Bungie's acquisition by...
. Educational groups include the National Opinion Research Center
National Opinion Research Center
NORC at the University of Chicago, established in 1941 as the National Opinion Research Center, is one of the largest and most highly respected social research organizations in the United States. Its corporate headquarters are located on the University of Chicago campus...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
, and DePaul University
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
and University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
Name change
On April 28, 2009, PBwiki changed its name to PBworks (at the same time launching a new Legal Edition).Censorship
PBworks (and previously PBwiki) is not accessible in the People's Republic of China (except Hong Kong), as it is blocked by the Great Firewall Of ChinaGolden Shield Project
The Golden Shield Project , colloquially referred to as the Great Firewall of China is a censorship and surveillance project operated by the Ministry of Public Security division of the government of the People's Republic of China...
.