Times of India : "Shooting city for web viewers"
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-29/mumbai/30675607_1_wi…
MUMBAI: On Saturday morning, a group of 40 Mumbaikars armed with cameras
gathered outside the Oval Maidan before setting out on a photo-walk to
ensure their city is well-represented in the realms of cyberspace where
information can be accessed for free.
Speaking about the popular free online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, Nikita
Belavate, a student, said, "Many Wikipedia articles on city landmarks do
not have photos. We want to change that." Belavate was one of the
organizers of the photo scavenger hunt, 'Wikipedia Takes Mumbai', which
concluded in the afternoon.
At the end of the shoot, the group uploaded over 200 pictures to
Wikimedia Commons, the repository of free multimedia files that supplies
photos to all Wiki sites. "We took over 800 photos and will soon upload
the others," Belavate said.
The landmarks photographed included Babulnath Temple, Nehru Science
Centre and Bandra Talao. "We had a list of places like the mint and
Arthur Road Jail," said Neeraj Pattath, a volunteer photographer. "For
pictures that don't have a mention on the website yet, a new stub can be
created with a few lines describing them," said Pranav Curumsey, a
regular contributor to the site.
Financial analyst Anshuman Fotedar, who took pictures of St Thomas
Cathedral, INS Vikrant and Yazdani Bakery, said, "It was a way to learn
more about the city and its cultural history." For civil engineer Milind
Vedpathak, who photographed Kanheri, Mahakali and Mandapeshwar caves, it
was a "campaign to promote a side of Mumbai that wasn't about slums and
beggars".
The event was also meant to spread awareness about "Wiki culture". "We
helped people set up their Wiki user IDs and showed them how to use
Commonist, a tool that lets users upload large number of images," said
Karthik Nadar, a banking student.
--
Regards
Tinu Cherian
press(a)wikimedia.in
http://wiki.wikimedia.in/In_the_news
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