hi David, what you wrote fits exactly my experience!
Today, my opinion is, that we must focus our efforts on a small portion of Internet users. It is not that WE just do something very great, everyone is doing something! In very different ways. Maybe even Facebook users are doing something useful, but I can not judge.
In Austria, with our heritäge cultural monuments-project we started different approach to animate new and old user. This project started in the very beginning with maybe 5-6 active users and is now being carried out with 220 Wikipedians only in Austria. With varying intensity, but that's normal. We won estimated 30-50 new Wikipedians, also many who have been inactive for quite some time.
Crucial was, that we started with a clear communication structure with newsletter and a portal page from the very beginning. And personal meetings.
And what I found most important, was the effort to welcome the contribution of EVERY new wikipedian to welcome his/her contribution accordingly. Saying: Thank You for your contribution! No automated greetings with an hello-template, but a very personal one. Maybe WikiLove as its best, but very, very consequently.
In the course of this project, 2,400 articles (lists) are created and edited with a total of 36,000 listed properties. These lists are directly connected to another 4000-5000 other articles and about 20,000 images. At this time, we realised with this particular project only one third - maybe just ten percent - what we have set ourselves as a target. This means that we still have years to work on it. It is difficult to estimate how many new articles we will still get from this project in the future.
This project culminated in September wiht the WLM-project in which Austria has achieved a very excellent result, getting 12.500 pictures. And another 20 to 30 new user. Some of them prefer to work without registration. I don´t like it, but I have to accept it.
Our policy was: The best, the most significant, the most important contribution is the edit of an new user.
I think that every single project requires a communications manager who is also directly familiar with the project. Part of this communication efforts may also need the support of newcomers.
The mentor program is, in my view, too inflexible and too static. And also too impersonal. Very few people will accept an request of prerequisite tutoring.
The best of all: During the whole period we had no conflicts between us and no article-vandalism within this thematic area.
h.
Am 31.10.2011 12:29, schrieb David Gerard:
I’ve been into Wikipedia for several years, and all my friends know this. I *still* find myself having to explain to them in small words that that “edit” link really does include them fixing typos when they see one.
So my suggestion: tiny tiny steps like this: things people can do that have a strong probability of sticking.
Anyone else got ideas based on their (admittedly anecdotal) experience?
[inspired by Oliver Keyes' blog post: http://quominus.org/archives/524 ]
- d.
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