Commons Android app - IEG renewal proposal - Commons-l

18 Jul 2017

Hi folks,

The Wikimedia Commons app [1] (a community-maintained Android app that
allows users to upload photos to Commons from their phone) was funded via
an Individual Engagement Grant [2] last year and has several new features -
a list and map of nearby places that need photos (based on Wikidata),
category suggestions based on the image title, prevention of duplicate
uploads, and a new tutorial to educate new users on what types of photos
should or should not be uploaded. During the grant period, 20554 new files
were uploaded via the app with an overall deletion rate of 15.74% (11.7% in
the final two weeks after the new tutorial was implemented), and 3485
images that were uploaded via the app were used in Wikimedia articles.

While we are very happy with the progress made, there are many other
improvements that we would like to make but were not able to fit into the
scope of the previous grant. Thus we are proposing a renewal [3] of the IEG
in order to work on these. Highlights of the proposed improvements include:

- Enhancing the "Nearby places that need photos" feature by (1) allowing
users to upload their image directly from a location on the list or map,
with suggested title and categories based on the associated Wikidata item,
and (2) displaying the user's real-time position on the map to allow easier
navigation to the location they wish to photograph
- Improving user education by displaying Commons account and user talk
notifications (e.g. picture nominated for deletion) in the app, adding a
gallery of featured images, and adding various notices and explanations in
the upload screen
- A sleeker, more intuitive, and more interactive user interface - a
floating action button for uploads, "Nearby places that need photos" in a
tab alongside the user's contributions, and a panel to display Commons
account notifications and information about the nearest place that needs
photos
- Various technical and quality-of-life improvements, such as two-factor
authentication login, multiple uploads, preventing overwrites, and fixing
memory leaks and battery drain issues

We are especially excited about the "Nearby places that need photos"
enhancements, as we feel that it can help reduce the number of geo-located
Wikidata items that lack pictures, and provide pictures for Wikimedia
articles that lack them. We believe that this is one of our main strengths
as a mobile app - users can have a seamless workflow where they can browse
the places that need photos, select one and move to the location, and then
directly upload the photo after taking it (with relevant titles and
categories suggested), all within the same app and without needing to use a
computer.

Please do take a look at our proposal [3], feel free to provide feedback
and make new suggestions on the Discussion page, and/or endorse the
proposal if you see fit. If you would like to be part of the project, new
volunteers and additions to our diverse team are always welcome - please
visit our GitHub repository [4] and say "Hi". :)

Many thanks!

Regards,
Josephine (Commons app project maintainer)

[1] *https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.free.nrw.commons
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.free.nrw.commons>*
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Improve_%
27Upload_to_Commons%27_Android_App
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Improve_%27Upload_to_Commons…
[4] https://github.com/commons-app/apps-android-commons