Wetpaint

wetpaint

www.wetpaint.com

What do you do if you have a hobby or past time that a lot of people are interested in, and you want to be able to create a site that everyone can contribute to?

The answer is wiki. At wetpaint you can learn how to make simple and effective wiki pages in three easy steps.

Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Whilst you don't need to use this site to achieve that goal, it takes all of the hard work out of the process so even the most technically inept surfers can take part.

Click the link to play the tutorial on the opening page for an overview. When you're ready to get started just click the big green GO. Now just follow the steps, choosing who you want to be able to view and or edit the pages, a basic template for the design, and then inviting the people you want to participate.

It's fast, totally free, and you don't have to be a genius to make compelling pages - you just need some interesting content and a bunch of mates to help you out.

Make

Make

www.makezine.com

If you prefer more of a hands-on approach why not check out Make, which aims to bring the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life.

You can scan through the main sections using the links across the top. There's the Make blog, the magazine itself in an online format, videos and podcasts, projects, and of course the obligatory community with a relatively quiet forum which is none-the-less an interesting read.

All sections are well worth exploring, but I want to drag your attention to the videos and podcasts. Here you'll find a quirky selection of weekend projects you can do at home - such as making your own PDA notebook out of some quite unexpected materials.

Click the video link at the top to launch the video section. You can now browse the videos using the nav panel on the left. I really like the learn to laser graffiti video - which teaches you to tag buildings in a totally non destructive way. Not sure I'll ever do it, but the guys who present it are fun