Started in 2006 and open as a public-beta since June of last year, Bizwiki is finally officially live today. We’re cutting the ribbon (or more literally, removing the Beta ribbon that’s been on the top left of all pages since last June) and announcing the site more widely to the general public.

We are very happy to be able to say that Bizwiki has already had over two thousand people sign up to help add content and edit the site, with many more expected now that the site is officially live. Now is a good time to thank everyone who has contributed to making this site what it is, thank you.

To quote Keith Hinde, the chief technical architect behind the project, “It’s early days, but we’re already beginning to see what online communities are capable of. The site can only get better as more people use it, providing a network effect to encourage even more people to join.”

Along with all the members of public joining, we’d like to continue to invite business owners and representatives to get involved, seeing them as the real experts in their own companies and the best source of information for everything from contact details to prices to opening hours. Listing companies on Bizwiki is free, with no charge to either users or businesses, so it’s also an ideal chance for companies to connect with their customers and open channels of communication – even for those companies without a web site of their own.

The next steps involve adding a raft of new features to the site, mainly aimed at further improving search, building up detailed content, allowing more interactivity and social features. If you have any suggestions for additions or improvements, please let us know –we’d love as much feed back as possible. Email our Community Manager team@bizwiki.co.uk

Meanwhile, in the background, work has already begun on an even larger version; Bizwiki.com for the United States.