Splanwiki Dies In Early Infancy

Splanwiki, seen below on the left during happier times, died last week.


By BA
Published: April 22, 2008

The failed ‘wiki’ exercise with great promise met its tragic demise last week.

Splanwiki was the brainchild of Professor Theodore Eismeier’s Digital Politics minions at the esteemed Hamilton College in Central New York. A byproduct of the College’s “Strategic Plan,” Splanwiki hoped to provide an avenue for the college community to chart the college’s future through use of the ever-growing phenomenon, the wiki.

Hamilton College engages in the development of five-year strategic plans to steer vision and development of the College. Following the completion of the 2002 Strategic Plan in 2007, the college began the development of a new five year plan in 2008. Splanwiki was the attempt by dedicated students of the Government department to provide a convenient medium for their tech-savvy peers to voice concerns and visions –be it changes in residential life, academic prospectus, or stir-fry in a cup.

Information Technology Guru Dave Riordan birthed Splanwiki.com after purchasing a seven-dollar domain name and quickly transferring previously accumulated material from an older database. Mr. Riordan’s colleague, Bo Armstrong, created the face of Splanwiki that still makes our hearts patter today.

After a trying whisper campaign, Splanwiki was revealed to the Hamilton Community in early April 2008. The site had several hundred hits on its first day, and with the fine contributions of intellectuals like Samuel Reisen, Christopher Risi, Jenna Cohen, Jacob Kleinrock, Sanjana Nafday, Andrew Small, and Jonathan Wilson, the online Strategic Planning Wiki was on course to be a groundbreaking innovation. Splanwiki even received acclaim from the notorious blogger “The Jaded Gentleman” on contmag.com, Hamilton College’s quarterly magazine that has recently ventured online.

Sadly, Splanwiki endured a horrendous twist of fate. Within days of its public launch, visits to the site plummeted, bounce rates sky-rocketed, and material was severely lacking. Splanwiki’s death was announced on April 10, 2008; lack of interest was cited as the cause.

Splanwiki is survived only by the spirit and dedication put forth by the students of Digital Politics 389.