Ralph,
This is indeed a great opportunity to create greater awareness about the
Kannada wikipedia. We need a lot more contributors to Kannada wikipedia.
Exhibitions are hectic but p;pose the best outreach opportunity.
I though of sharing some learnings from the recent exhibit stall we had at
the World Sanskrit Book fair for you and the other volunteers to consider:
- These exhibitions tend to draw lot of crowds and can be very
exhausting.
- There needs to be 4 volunteers at a given time in the stall.
- Volunteers need to be in shifts of 2 hours to be effective and retain
energy reserves.
- Most of the questions in event like these are general awareness, what
they can do as readers, how they need to do if they need to contribute (whom
to contact). Discussions will not be very technical. (except in the cases of
very few visitors)
- Having pamphlets is a a great help with the links to wikimedia.in,
kannada wikipedia and other projects, India meetup page. We struggled
writing the links through the 2 days as we did not have any pamphlets.
- We now have the banners from the W10 event in Bangalore. These will be
of great use.
- Take the wikireader, it generates a lot of interest. It is now with
HPN.
- Suggest 3-4 laptops with a data card each. This is better than using a
single projector. We did not use a projector. One to one discussions are
most effective.
- Take a a few notebooks to write down contacts of people who want help
to become contributors.
- You will also run into people who would want to give away content they
have created to wikipedia. This is as always a great opportunity.
- From our past experience, the volunteers knowing wikipedia (even using
is good). Key messages to communicate can be shared with the team. The
general public is not very well informed on specifics of wikipedia except
being aware. Many may not know about it in Indian languages.
- The volunteers need the ability to communicate and relate to the varied
audience and backgrounds. This is the most important skill than even being
insightful.
- Have at least one senior wikipedian in the stall to answer the
difficult or detailed questions.
- Overlap some volunteers across days to carry the learning and
experience of earlier days across subsequent days.
- Expect people to ask questions about Kanaja and other similar projects.
They may also have stalls.
Best wishes for the event.
regards
Arun
Bangalore, India
www.twitter.com/arunram
On Tue, Jan 25, 2011 at 9:52 AM, Ralph <work.well.done.in(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1096315.ece
>
> In order to move forward, may I suggest the following:
>
> Job description of volunteer: other prerequisites - please list
> 1. Speak Kannada Yes (mandatory)/No (not required)
> 2. Programming knowledge Yes (mandatory)/No (not required)
> 3.
> 4.
>
> 1. List of names/email of volunteers who will be present at the Kannada
> Wikipedia booth on
> a. 4 Fri
> b. 5 Sat
> c. 6 Sun
>
> 2. Location map of venue/hall/room - exact details to prevent frantic
> searching for the right place.
>
> 3. Bus from Shivajinagar/Majestic/...
>
> 4. Coordinator name & mobile 9.........
>
> 5. Please bring (your own) snack/lunch, booth will be working without a
> break! Cannot afford to lose a single visitor.
>
> 6. Script: What should/should not be said. It may be impossible to meet
> before the event for the orientation but a virtual classroom will address
> that need.
>
> http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/453323-let-s-learn-to-use-wiziq-virtual-c…
>
> Await your comments. Thanks. Ralph
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wikimediaindia-l mailing list
> Wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
>
>
Thanks a ton for the translation, Sriram.
I still cannot figure out what they are referring to as the database
, supposedly told by me.
Is the reporter's name or contact information available in the link?
Regards
Tinu Cherian
On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 5:17 PM, Sriram <sram.bms(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> It's not an accurate translation, but I think I've got most of it right. I
> apologize for any spelling mistakes that might have crept in :)
>
>
> Wikipedia recently celebrated its Ten Year Anniversary on Jan 15th.
> Wikipedia has shone the light of knowledge on the masses for a decade now.
> This online encyclopedia stands apart from the rest all over the world for
> several reasons.
>
> Wikipedia is the result of the combined efforts of a community.
>
> Everyone knows Wikipedia does not get revenue from Ads. This is a free
> online enclyclopedia. The user is the owner(?). He looks for information,
> adds information, corrects information and in the process enables the growth
> of the encyclopedia. Wikipedia was launched on Jan 15, 2001.
>
> Wikipedia was built using the 'wiki' technology by Jimmy Wales and Larry
> Sanger.
>
> Wikipedia is the perfect example which supports the saying " The first
> footsteps of any great revolution in the world is always small. But it grows
> exponentially(?) thereafter".
>
> Wikipedia has around 17 million articles, has 365 million readers and is
> available in 262 languages.
>
> There were more than 300 events all over the world to celebrate Wikipedia's
> 10th anniversary. It's indeed special that more than 60 of these events
> happened in India.
>
> India is the only place where Wikipedia has an office outside N. America.
> "India holds a special place for the Wikimedia foundation" says executive
> director, Sue Gardner.
>
> Wikipedia is at present available in 20 Indian languages. More than 20
> other languages like Tulu, Konkani and Mizo are in the early stages of
> development.
>
> "As part of the 10th Anniversary celebrations, the Wikimedia India chapter
> has come up with many initiatives. One of the main initiatives is creating a
> database(?) of languages like Hindi and other regional languages. We are
> also trying to reach more people through many other activities" says
> Wikimedia India Chapter's Tinu Cherian.
>
> Wikimedia's 29th branch was launched in Bangalore during the 10th
> Anniversary celebrations. There are around 100 to 200 contributors for
> Indian languages. For English it has crossed 100. Wikipedia is looking to
> increase the quality of the articles and is also trying to increase women
> participation.
>
> "The usage of internet has increased dramatically in India, mostly through
> mobile phones. We're giving special attention towards the indian market for
> this reason ” says Gardner
>
> According to several internet analysts, the number of contributors has
> declined sharply over the years. The number has come down from 54000 in
> March, 2007 to 35000 in Sept, 2010.
>
> It is difficult to imagine a future without Wikipedia. In this digital age,
> even though you have information at your fingertips, one definitely needs
> Wikipedia to corroborate it.
>
>
> Regards,
> Sriram
>
> On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 11:27 AM, CherianTinu Abraham <
> tinucherian(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Prajavani : ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ: ಬಹು ಭಾಷೆ- ಬಹುಜ್ಞಾನ :" Wikipedia : Multiple
>> languages : Source of knowledge " ( Kannada)
>>
>>
>> http://beta.prajavani.net/web/include/story.php?news=485§ion=141&menuid…
>>
>>
>> Can somebody give a brief translation?
>>
>> Regards
>> Tinu Cherian
>> http://wikimedia.in/wiki/In_the_news#February_2011
>>
>>
>> N.B. Apparently I was quoted in this , but I don't remember any Prajavani
>> reporter talking to me ;)
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Wikimedia-in-blr mailing list
>> Wikimedia-in-blr(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-in-blr
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wikimedia-in-blr mailing list
> Wikimedia-in-blr(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-in-blr
>
>
Wikipedia Meetup, Mangalore #1
at St. Aloysius, Mangalore.
I had been invited to give a talk on Sampada at Catholic Press Association,
Mangalore.
Since I was in the town, we had called for a Wikipedia meetup on Saturday
afternoon at St. Aloysius. We had some great time discussing Wikipedia,
Konkani and Tulu along with Kannada figuring most in the discussions.
Photos are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hpnadig/sets/72157625942734564/
Cheers,
--
Hari Prasad Nadig
http://hpnadig.net | http://twitter.com/hpnadighttp://flickr.com/hpnadig
Waiting for the pics .... :)
-TC
On Sat, Jan 29, 2011 at 7:35 PM, BalaSundaraRaman <sundarbecse(a)yahoo.com>wrote:
> Great to know! How did the event go?
>
> - Sundar
>
> "That language is an instrument of human reason, and not merely a medium
> for the expression of thought, is a truth generally admitted."
> - George Boole, quoted in Iverson's Turing Award Lecture
>
>
> *From:* Hari Prasad Nadig <hpnadig(a)gmail.com>
> *To:* CherianTinu Abraham <tinucherian(a)gmail.com>; Wikimedia India List <
> wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>; "Kannada Wikipedia Discussion List
> wikikn-l(a)wikipedia.org" <wikikn-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>; "Executive
> Committee, Wikimedia India" <Wikimedia-IN-Exec(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> *Sent:* Sat, January 29, 2011 10:54:59 AM
> *Subject:* [Wikimedia-IN-Exec] 'The Hindu' on Mangalore Wikipedia meetup
>
> This one appeared on the front page of Mangalore edition today!
>
> http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/29/stories/2011012958280100.htm
>
> --
> Hari Prasad Nadig
> http://hpnadig.net | http://twitter.com/hpnadig
> http://flickr.com/hpnadig
>
>