VentureBeat

A lot of people use Wikipedia, but until now there’s been no way to see what topics are the most popular.
Wikirank solves that problem, with a new tool that shows how each Wikipedia topic ranks in popularity.
Users familiar with Google Analytics will recognize the setup. Users can search for statistics on each topic (for example, [...]

A lot of people use Wikipedia, but until now there’s been no way to see what topics are the most popular.

Wikirank solves that problem, with a new tool that shows how each Wikipedia topic ranks in popularity.

Users familiar with Google Analytics will recognize the setup. Users can search for statistics on each topic (for example, page views on “Barack Obama” during the last 30 days, etc.). In addition, there’s a list of top Wikipedia topics and a list of the most dramatic traffic shift in popularity in the last 24 hours. So, for example, if you want to compare searches for your own name with Barack Obama, a nice little Google Analytics-looking graph reveals your performance. You can share the information with friends.

Wikirank is the first product from San Francisco-based Small Batch, run by Jeffrey Veen, previously a co-founder at Visible Path, and project lead for Measure Map, a company later sold to Google. The inspiration for Wikirank came from how Twitter users employ Twitter search. That service can be used to track how often people reference certain words or hashtags, and allows you to see if certain topics are gaining or losing popularity in real time.

Wikirank took one month to develop and will be launching late this month, and financed by advertising. However, Veen suggested Wikirank may just be the beginning steps of a business. “Wikirank, as a project, is just a way to explore new technologies for other products that we think may be more commercial,” says Veen.

Veen said Small Batch hasn’t raised any financing.

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