To my coworkers who ask me what I'm talking about when I'm singing Wikidot's praises:

Wikidot is the wiki farm run by guys who wrote the software that we use for our internal wiki at the office.

I usually get the vacant stare and "Ohhh…" just before they roll their eyes and walk away before I get a chance to say anything more. ;)

For others who hang around long enough,

Wikidot is the place to go if you want to easily create your own space in the world wide web. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get a few of the basics down, you can be up and running in no time. Whether you're looking for a place to blog, build a small site for your family and friends to share information, build a private space to collaborate on a secret project, build a public collaborative site about your favorite interests or want to create a "classic" web site, Wikidot can meet your needs. Most importantly, there is an unbelievably active, friendly, worldwide community of users who can usually answer any question within minutes of it being asked.

-Ed

I still cannot explain it in French for well known reasons…

I don't know how to explain it. It's that simple. Generally the people that ask are site members on my Wikidot site.

I have 130 site members on my website at the moment… I think only 4 of those have used Wikidot before joining my website as a member (myself, James Kanjo, tsangk, and one other user). The other 126 are signed up to my wikidot site only and most of them have never seen any other wikidot sites.

Generally the quickest way to get out of a long and detailed explanation is to say this:

"Wikidot is our host for this website."

I don't know what else to say after that ;-)

If it's a very short conversation I say that Wikidot is the platform that allows them to build collaborative websites with no special software or lengthy IT training.

If it's a presentation or a longer conversation I don't start by talking about Wikidot at all! Because for many people their knowledge of a wiki is limited to Wikipedia, I start by explaining what a wiki is, the massive range of things you can do with one, how it enhances collaboration and reduces email exchanges and how it enables a group of people to add content and keep it up to date rather than relying on just one person. I emphasise the all the things that can be added to the wiki (blogs, video, calendars, photo galleries, forums, forms, lists….), the ease of use, the ability to roll back to previous versions, and the fun aspect of seeing their changes live on the internet instantly. For many people all this is quite a revelation.

For those who have heard of Wordpress I explain that a Wikidot site is similar to Wordpress but can be much more powerful.

How about, a hosted service that allows even the technologically challenged to build their own websites either on their own or with their friends.

One of the biggest advantages of a wiki software is that it is foolproof. Make a mistake, there is a history option, you can go back to a previous version of the same page. Whether you reach the level of interactivity you want or not, the ability for many people to edit the same site is amazing.

(I can see masses of potential in the company I work for, but run up against a wall of apathy.)

I think Rob has gotten the right direction - the difference of the target - publicum, - people.

When I try to explain wikidot and his features to my family ( non technic people) - the standard question is always - why should I have a computer only for this web-apperance of my "idea" - family tree" - "Sportsclub press" - "mountainieriung club" … a,s,o,… I can live very good without any computer…. what can I say than?
( I work for the electronic / kybernetic data processing for more than 43 years ).

And the other - modern and young co-workers used to use a laptop for their work?

They are over-stressed to use their neccessary tools for work and have no willings and time and power and., and . .. to start another tool - for what ?

• to bring in their knowlegte ( Knowledge base-wiki as an example in my comp.) and lose any position in the business, because they can than be exchanged with younger and cheaper people without any danger by the comp.
• to bring in in a "colaboration tool" their knowledge without any "payment" for such work?

the result is a "mini" wiki ( Documentatin, procedur4es, Logs, Events) in my old comp - written by some enthusiasts and not the people who should live with it.
And the CEO's ?
They do not like it - this is like a publilc wall where the critics and meanings of the people can be written very easy and readable for all without any real control by them. (Free forum ) This can be dangerous.

I think fsince some month about a book ( like our handbook) for dummies ( like "Wiki for everyone !" ) with all the philosophical stiudes Rob has brought some months ago to show the "benefits" of a wiki . I think, as T.A.Edison changed the world to sell his electricity , if there is no use by the mass of people than we should change the mind of the people and explain what is possible with a wiki - and not its technical solution.

I am not talking here about the "webhosting" - this is a complete different target-publicum - most of these people knows exactly what they want and search only a place and cheap technic.

My answer would be: explain Wikidot in context.

Point them a specific example how Wikidot benefits you. Or show how it can help them in their particular needs, problems or wants.

Then, the sandbox is a terrific tool. Things like Wikidot could be understood easier by doing than by listening about them. (Maybe the sandbox should have a more prominent placement on the main page?)

That simple.