Collective content creation is on the rise, and Wiki syntax will be the backbone. Wiki syntax is all over the map, ranging from simple to complex.
As an avid Wiki user, I want a simple yet feature-rich syntax. I want that syntax to work everywhere I Wiki. I want my formatting to be imported into and exported from word processors.
Guess what? Not happening. There are multiple competing standards. Right now, I am using the following syntax:
http://moinmoin.wikiwikiweb.de/
There are things that I like about this syntax, and things that I hate. For example, making items bold requires three single quotes, like ”’. Making a bullet requires a space then an asterix. These appear sloppy and difficult to me.
A good Wiki syntax could make the web more interesting – more interesting than the impact of blogs. At some point, it is easier to learn HTML and CSS. For simplicity, nothing beats:
http://textism.com/tools/textile/
It seems like there is a real market opportunity to build the universal Wiki syntax standard and syndicate it through some licensing model to everyone. The challenge is to get enough adoption by all of the main Wiki-oriented sites.
