WetPaint Archive

WetPaint has announced this morning that Wetpaint Wiki users can now send single or multi-person private messages to connect and collaborate with others about their most passionate interests. I was able to grab two quotes from Ben Elowitz, WetPaint CEO:

“When people collaborate, good things happen, whether that collaboration is taking place for the world to see or between two people wishing to have a private dialogue. By empowering users to send private messages, Wetpaint furthers its commitment to providing the easiest and most convenient means for consumers to collaborate online.”

"Publishing on the Web at the speed of thought and collaborating with mass audiences is now in the hands of every consumer."

To send a message to another member, all users have to do is simply click on the member's username and then select “send message.” Additionally, moderators and site creators can send "broadcast-style" messages to every user on their site by simply typing “All Registered Users” in the “To:” line.

Check out my interview with Ben and Kevin Flaherty (head of marketing) from January where we discuss WetPaint and where the Wiki format is moving. My belief is that the Wikipedia look and usability is only just scratching the surface of where Wiki will be going in 2007.

During my time at AlwaysOn, I had a chance to sit down with two execs from Wetpaint. Ben Elowitz is CEO and Kevin Flaherty is VP of Marketing of Wetpaint, a friendly Wiki.  I enjoyed my chat with Ben and Kevin and they really have a good plan for the future. Have a listen to the audio mp3 below.

Click the start button below to begin the audio interview (22 minutes) (or download the mp3):

New feature launch

In addition to my chat, Wetpaint has launched a bunch of new features today that really make this Wiki one-of-a-kind. The new features include: Wetpaint Widgets, custom URL domain mapping, autolinking, and more.

"The most powerful forces behind the mass production of online content are the people, whether they are publishing written content, videos, or photos," said Ben Elowitz, CEO and cofounder of Wetpaint. "With every release, we focus on empowering consumers to create Wetpaint sites that reflect their passions and interest, regardless of content type or topic. Our new customization elements and ease-of-use focus in this release are reflections of this empowerment mandate."

Wetpaint users can also add any third-party widget to their Wetpaint Wiki including applications such as Google Docs and Spreadsheets can also be added to Wetpaint Wikis.

I like what I have seen with Wetpaint. They are making a name for themselves by going after the mainstream and business markets. These markets don't want to learn Wiki markup language and this tool fills a hole. Perhaps Wetpaint can become the MySpace of Wikis.