Hello Valerie,

Thanks for the update. I've been following the progress of Wikibase Cloud and I'm very impressed with the work that you and your team have done.

I'm particularly interested in the new visual identity for Wikibase. It's very modern and sleek, and I think it will help to attract new users to the platform.

I'm also glad to hear that you're continuing to work on improving the documentation for Wikibase. This is a critical area for improvement, and I'm confident that your efforts will make it easier for people to learn how to use the platform.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you and your team accomplish in the coming year.

Best regards,
Aliyu Shaba.


On Wed, Dec 20, 2023, 6:20 PM Valerie Wollinger <valerie.wollinger@wikimedia.de> wrote:

Dear Wikibase Community,


This is my last message for this year.

Be aware, it’s a longer one, but it contains nothing but gratitude and enthusiasm. 


I've been reflecting on what these last months looked like, and I would like to mention that you've played a big role in it. 


How so?


You've helped me understand Wikibase better. Yes, I'm still learning - just like all of us - but I can see how I can make much more sense of your conversations and requests today.


You introduced me to an open and welcoming culture, where new users can find support and guidance when needed. 


You responded to our surveys and took the time to help us understand where we needed to look more closely and realign our goals.


You've been so patient. All these ElasticSearch struggles we've been through. Wow. I can promise, we will do our best to make this experience as smooth as possible in the future because we have definitely learned more about the hick-ups of that specific feature.


You've been great advocates! I loved following your visits to presentations where you showed your Wikibase projects to existing and new audiences.


You've been honest. There is nothing better than constructive feedback, and I would like to thank you for that as well. Not everyone can like a logo or a website or a new design, and that is what makes a community with different perspectives. I appreciate that we communicate on a ground where compliments and criticism can co-exist.


Specifically for Cloud users: you've been great co-pilots in moving from close to open beta. We are beyond excited about this development and we can already see the outcomes. Since we've made that change, we've seen 162 Wikibases created on Wikibase Cloud and using it.


I would also like to use this space and highlight some product successes this year:


  • Wikibase Cloud was established as a product in its own right: hosting nearly 800 Wikibases, with 358 active ones accessible through the Discovery tool released in summer this year, and a distinct identity, complete with a logo and homepage. 

  • Infrastructure enhancements have significantly improved Wikibase Cloud's uptime and data/service availability. 

  • We transitioned from a private beta to an open beta in September, underlining our confidence in the platform and ongoing commitment to expanding Wikibase Cloud.

  • The Docker packages of Wikibase Suite are now in sync with the MediaWiki releases, with the latest release for version 1.40. 

  • Significant work was put into the Wikibase release pipeline to improve and simplify the experience of people self-hosting and managing Wikibases. 

  • Valuable insights from research initiatives have driven improvements, especially in documentation, and more will be addressed in 2024.


On a sad note, we have to say goodbye to our great Product Manager Evelien Zandbergen. See announcement here. 


If you want to read more about what we did this year, you can check the updates section on our meta page. 


On a more general note, I thought it’d be nice to link to some other highlights. 

  • We visited ICOM conference this year. Take a look at our pictures and the blog post of this meaningful week. 

  • Pilot Workshops at Nigerian Library

  • Workshop at Goethe Institute in Thessaloniki, Greece

  • We had great conversations with Wikibase users who shared their experiences with Wikibase. They resulted in blog posts that are available to everyone. You can find them with this link. (Spoiler, you will see many more articles coming up on this blog in the future!) 

  • We created a new visual identity for Wikibase! 



Let’s meet again for our next Live Session on the 25th of January, where we will announce our quarterly goals as well as the outcomes of our end of the year survey. :-)


Thanks again for your patience, your support and your great engagement!



Yours, 


Valerie on behalf of Wikibase Cloud, Suite and Software Communications. 



Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0
https://wikimedia.de

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