SJ, thanks for sharing the nostalgia.wikipedia.org link. I've been a Wikimedian for four years, and not once stumbled across that. You learn something new every day...
As for the "educational products" phrase, my feeling is yes, the community on-wiki doesn't tend to think of the projects *literally* as products. But, from my experience, the use of the phrase is simply part of a larger trend of referring to websites and families of sites as a product. As in, the point of a primarily Web-based institution being to deliver the site/sites as a product to visitors. That spirit has already been something that marks Wikimedia projects as different from most wikis I think, whether or not we literally refer to them that way.
[[User:Steven:Walling]]
On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 12:51 AM, Samuel Klein meta.sj@gmail.com wrote:
Welcome, Jennifer. The current foundation-l traffic isn't quite as vibrant an intro to the community today as it was in 2005 or so. I hope you will share your thoughts, even unformed!
For a historical taste, don't forget to visit the nostalgia wiki: http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org ...and even http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiPedia
Trends across the life of the projects are important; a lot of us spend time reflecting on what was best, whether changes since then have been good or bad for coherence, growth, quality, and fun. I wonder in particular why we haven't developed new projects lately - there are many out there that fit naturally into the original wikiethos, and the newer foundation mission.
SJ
ps - It is disconcerting to hear Wikipedia and sibs referred to as 'educational products' and materials. I mean, do we have products? I don't think the projects see themselves as such; though there are occasional products that emerge (such as 3D wiki globes... TC/Theo: can we get another run of those?!)
pps - A general note - it would be nice to see links to people's user accounts when they are introduced, whether they are advisors, staff, friends of the wiki, or Editors of Unusual Size...
On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 7:12 PM, Jennifer Riggs jriggs@wikimedia.org wrote:
This being Volunteer Appreciation week in the US, I thought it was a great chance for me to post to this list and post a Wikimedia blog http://blog.wikimedia.org/2009/04/20/volunteer-appreciation/. I want to thank everyone for being so welcoming. I am very excited about this organization and this job working to support such an amazing group of volunteers!
I've been reading along on some important community issues discussed here and am learning so much. I look forward also to hearing perspectives on the list about issues around diversifying and further globalizing Wikimedia's free educational products and material. I am very volunteer-centric when it comes to my big thinking about direction, activities and products. So, I will be relying on you to help frame the Foundation's volunteer support in a way that will be most beneficial in your efforts to achieve our community's goals.
I look forward to meeting you as individuals as I go. Jennifer Riggs - CPO Wikimedia Foundation
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