[Wikimediaindia-l] What's in it for me?

[Srikanth Ramakrishnan]

Thanks for your suggestions Barry. I have, in the past come across
several first time editors online, whose edit, while not a perfect
one, shows a lot of potential. Thankfully, we've got Twinkle and the
whole WikiLove set of tools to welcome these guys, but still there are
some Bullies around.

On 12/16/11, Barry Newstead <bnewstead at wikimedia.org> wrote:
> This is a great question Srikanth and links to some of the thinking that
> Shiju just shared about the challenges for Indic language projects. [1]. My
> feeling is that editing Wikipedia isn't for everyone, but there are a lot
> of people who it is or could be for.  Our challenge is to really connect
> with those who will find joy in the experience and not worry about those
> who think sharing knowledge freely is a strange form of insanity. ;)
>
> I have limited experience, but in my travels in India, I think the greatest
> challenge is in basic awareness of how Wikipedia works.  I'd say that over
> 90% of non-Wikipedians in India that I've met have no idea that they can
> edit Wikipedia or that Wikipedia is not written by paid staff (many also
> have no idea we have Indic language projects, not to mention 20!). These
> are generally not stupid people and our challenge is to inform them. If we
> inform millions, we'll find thousands (that's all we really can expect from
> global experience) to try editing in all of our projects.  So the question
> I've been pondering is how do we explain the basics of who we are to
> millions rather than to 25-50 people who might show up for a workshop.
>
> From there our challenge is to welcome those who feel like trying it out,
> orient them to the norms of the environment, help them when they make
> mistakes and encourage them to stick with it, even if they aren't perfect.
>  As the editor trends data shows, our greatest opportunity and challenge
> lies in helping those who show up and want to edit...succeed! [2] There is
> some neat work going on to look at ways we can improve our interaction with
> newcomers, particularly by making their interaction feel more
> human-to-human rather than human-to-template.[3]
>
> My 2 paise.
>
> Best,
> Barry
>
>
> [1]
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_-_India_Programs/Indic_Languages/Summary_of_initial_discussions_-_2011
> [2] Only 10% of new editors stick around for a year these days
> http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Enwp_retention_vs_active_editors.png
> and
> about 85% don't even last 3 months
> http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Enwp-jan-cohorts--10-1-.png
> [3] An example of work that Steven and Mariana are working on building from
> WMF's Summer of Research:
> http://blog.wikimedia.org/2011/11/21/you-have-new-messages-improving-communication-on-wikipedia/
>
> On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 10:01 AM, Srikanth Ramakrishnan <
> parakara.ghoda at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Oh, and by the way. Try Googling for Tamil Wedding in images. The
>> first result should be a result of the Tamil Media Contest. Perhaps,
>> this could be more ... Err ... Encouragement?
>>
>> On 12/16/11, Srikanth Ramakrishnan <parakara.ghoda at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > Swaroop, yes I know. I personally do enjoy editing the article on my
>> > native town and adding photos about it. Wish others would follow me.
>> > Arun, that's pretty much a Commons Venture. I've tried that a lot.
>> > Most of my pictures are first page results on Google. Try Googling
>> > Nice Road or Chittode Junction. But it hasn't helped me that well.
>> >
>> > --
>> > Regards,
>> > Srikanth Ramakrishnan.
>> > Wikipedia Coimbatore Meetup on December 10th.
>> > http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetup/Coimbatore
>> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>> Srikanth Ramakrishnan.
>> Wikipedia Coimbatore Meetup on December 10th.
>> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetup/Coimbatore
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Barry Newstead
> Chief Global Development Officer
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
> the sum of all knowledge.  Help us make it a reality!
>
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate
>


-- 
Regards,
Srikanth Ramakrishnan.
Wikipedia Coimbatore Meetup on December 10th.
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetup/Coimbatore