Wikipes, the Global Cookbook
I love food. I enjoy cooking once in a while. However, most of my experimentation turns out rather poorly and anyone unlucky enough to taste my fare had better make sure there's pizza in the freezer as a backup. Frankly I'm intimidated by recipes with more than a handful of ingredients and prefer to try new things when they look simple for me to do.
Similarly, many people are intimidated by unfamiliar technology, especially when there are a lot of new concepts involved. In this article, I'll show you a technology that might be unfamiliar to you, while also showing you a fantastic way to share recipes with others. We'll do this by exploring an online recipe (and drink) resource that uses a technology called a "wiki"!
Introducing technologies to people using real life examples works well. "Make it real", as the saying goes. Thanks to a new recipe site called Wikipes that started out this January, I can do just that.
What is a Wiki?
A wiki (commonly pronounced "wicky") is a web site that allows anyone to edit content on it. Wiki wiki comes from the Hawaiian term for "quick" or "super fast", which is what a wiki site is designed to do - allow people to edit the content (in this case, recipes) on the site quickly.
Most web sites can only be changed by the owner or webmaster. Some sites have Internet forums that allow users to hold online discussions, inviting them to post topics and discuss issues with one another. However, users cannot edit each other's posted discussions.
It would seem that being able to edit other people's contributions is a bad thing. After all, what would stop someone from changing what I said into something sinister or incorrect? Wiki software has some built-in safeguards to allow the site administrator to roll back changes. Wikis are normally used for factual information, not opinion. One such site is the Wikipedia, a collaborative online encyclopedia.
A Place to Share Recipes
The Wikipes name came from a combination of "wiki" and "recipes" which originated from the creative minds of Erik Sagen and Matt Burris. The section "About Matt Burris" elaborates:
Finding a Recipe
Like any web site, finding what you want is fairly straight forward. You can either use the search from the main page, or else click on the category menu across the top. Some menu items will give you a further refinement of choices (ie Meals gives you Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner that lead to other pages) while other choices like Drinks will give you the sub-categories on the same page. Using the Search feature was a little slow for me (about 15 seconds).
In general, most wikis have relatively familiar layouts that make it easy to find what you need.
Adding Your Own Recipes
This is the core of what wikis do best. Without requiring you to register your own personal information, wikis are made with a tablespoon of input from the surfing public and a dash of trust. I find it rather amazing that just anyone can drop in and deface wikis yet it rarely happens, and wikis allow rollbacks to a good version in case it does happen. What this means is maximum public input and maximum usefulness with a minimum of hassle.
However, depending on the wiki software that each wiki site uses, it may be a bit involved to learn how to format the pages correctly and consistently. But even if you add a recipe and make a mistake, anyone can fix it!
To get a feel for how adding your own recipe works, most wikis provide a test page for you to play with, and Wikipes is no exception. Take a look at what they call the Wikipes playground where you can edit to your heart's content with a fake recipe. Click on the Edit buttons in each section, and see how they lay out the recipe. In the latter sections when you click Edit you can see a button called "Use Recipe Template" where they add the basic formatting for you. Just click this before you start, and change the text to suit your recipe. It couldn't be easier!
Serving Suggestions
Wikis are powerful web tools that allow open collaboration on their content. Wikipes is a great introduction to the wiki, and hopefully you'll add a few recipes of your own!
Similarly, many people are intimidated by unfamiliar technology, especially when there are a lot of new concepts involved. In this article, I'll show you a technology that might be unfamiliar to you, while also showing you a fantastic way to share recipes with others. We'll do this by exploring an online recipe (and drink) resource that uses a technology called a "wiki"!
Introducing technologies to people using real life examples works well. "Make it real", as the saying goes. Thanks to a new recipe site called Wikipes that started out this January, I can do just that.
What is a Wiki?
A wiki (commonly pronounced "wicky") is a web site that allows anyone to edit content on it. Wiki wiki comes from the Hawaiian term for "quick" or "super fast", which is what a wiki site is designed to do - allow people to edit the content (in this case, recipes) on the site quickly.
Most web sites can only be changed by the owner or webmaster. Some sites have Internet forums that allow users to hold online discussions, inviting them to post topics and discuss issues with one another. However, users cannot edit each other's posted discussions.
It would seem that being able to edit other people's contributions is a bad thing. After all, what would stop someone from changing what I said into something sinister or incorrect? Wiki software has some built-in safeguards to allow the site administrator to roll back changes. Wikis are normally used for factual information, not opinion. One such site is the Wikipedia, a collaborative online encyclopedia.
A Place to Share Recipes
The Wikipes name came from a combination of "wiki" and "recipes" which originated from the creative minds of Erik Sagen and Matt Burris. The section "About Matt Burris" elaborates:
His roommate would always ask him what was for lunch, or dinner, and he would try to find new recipes on the internet. What he found were recipes that called for caviar, or black truffles, or ingredients he has never heard of and would have a price tag of a new T.V. So he thought to himself, how nice it would be to find recipes from people of all walks of life, not just professionals and enthusiasts, but amateurs and those who are just passionate about tasty food and drinks. Therefore, Wikipes.com was born. Matt created this site with the goal of allowing the whole world to participate in a project to share recipes; no matter how fancy, easy, or unique it is.
Finding a Recipe
Like any web site, finding what you want is fairly straight forward. You can either use the search from the main page, or else click on the category menu across the top. Some menu items will give you a further refinement of choices (ie Meals gives you Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner that lead to other pages) while other choices like Drinks will give you the sub-categories on the same page. Using the Search feature was a little slow for me (about 15 seconds).
In general, most wikis have relatively familiar layouts that make it easy to find what you need.
Adding Your Own Recipes
This is the core of what wikis do best. Without requiring you to register your own personal information, wikis are made with a tablespoon of input from the surfing public and a dash of trust. I find it rather amazing that just anyone can drop in and deface wikis yet it rarely happens, and wikis allow rollbacks to a good version in case it does happen. What this means is maximum public input and maximum usefulness with a minimum of hassle.
However, depending on the wiki software that each wiki site uses, it may be a bit involved to learn how to format the pages correctly and consistently. But even if you add a recipe and make a mistake, anyone can fix it!
To get a feel for how adding your own recipe works, most wikis provide a test page for you to play with, and Wikipes is no exception. Take a look at what they call the Wikipes playground where you can edit to your heart's content with a fake recipe. Click on the Edit buttons in each section, and see how they lay out the recipe. In the latter sections when you click Edit you can see a button called "Use Recipe Template" where they add the basic formatting for you. Just click this before you start, and change the text to suit your recipe. It couldn't be easier!
Serving Suggestions
Wikis are powerful web tools that allow open collaboration on their content. Wikipes is a great introduction to the wiki, and hopefully you'll add a few recipes of your own!
posted by Peter at
6:22 PM
