Wagn Endorsn

I wrote this silly little explanation of wagn as a fun way to learn about it. While I am no Dr. Seuss, I was inspired by it. You can learn more about wagn by reading what the ReadWriteWeb has to say about it.

In Eugene, a couple geeks started building tools for a thrivable world. As a starter,
they thought they were building tools to make shopping with your values smarter.
They built Alonovo and the protoype for Make Me Sustainable
while crafting away at their own tool, wagn, when they were able.
They needed a space that could be edited, like a wiki,
by a community of folks in a space that was sticky.
But something that could work like a spreadsheet,
organizing information so searching would be a treat.
(Templates came in handy too, however, it was no small feat.)

Oregon’s biggest family foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust,
cried, “We need a knowledge management tool, we must!
Our knowledge, it seems to flow right out the door,
and we touch so many who know so much more.”
Now, Connectipedia.org is the biggest wagn to soar!

I saw “cards within cards” (for cards are smaller units than pages).
“Oh my! This could be used in so many ways – for writing in stages”
The process of reshuffling information becomes so slick,
Rearrange the outline! Click! We can be done in a lick!
And those business docs that are modular, with a chunk
being re-used in different combinations, ker-plunk!

This tools handles it in a snap!
But there was MORE! (Clap)

For 3 years I wandered Omidyar.net, a platform based on Plone.
It had blogs, and wikis, and profiles too. (Did I hear you moan?)
Such wonderful energy and wisdom was there!
It was filled with people bursting with care.
But nobody hardly ever, I dare say never, (tho it wasn’t that tricky)
took the gems from the blogs and moved them to the wiki.
(the highest value of a wiki, I think, is how it refines)
but no, all these conversations floating in timelines,
And no output, no coherent product, just blog vines.

Wagn answered – make the wiki a blog, make the blog a wiki!
You just add a comment box at the end. It wasn’t all that tricky.
Add all the comments (only if you give them permissions)
Like a wiki, the history keeps track of all the revisions.
I know it can do it, if we just give it a try.
Wagn is super fly! Do you know why?
Because it is the little things that stop us in a rut:
the copy, click; paste, save with no tracking of who said what.

I know, it still isn’t pretty,
(and I am not that witty)
Rest assured, you can bet,
I haven’t touched the css yet!
And there are pieces in the works today
that will help with making it easier to play.
I have seen gizmos and gadgets,
even had my hand in the making of wadgets.
But this wagn’s got ’em beat,
because what it does is simply so neat.