Dear Wikimedia Foundation Volunteers,
I write to pitch you on a project which I'm convinced would be an ideal
complement to your existing initiatives. Using MediaWiki, I've launched a
site called Kunkelfruit Wiki. The purpose of the site is to provide a home
for collaborative articles about how popular products are made. Here is the
website address:
http://www.scriblerus.net/kunkelfruit/
There are currently about 20 articles on the site, including ones on the
Nintendo Wii, Starbucks Latte, Perdue Chicken Breast, Lord of the Rings
movies, and contact lenses, among others. Currently, Kunkelfruit Wiki is a
one man show-with the occasional contribution from freelance writers. But I
am a third-year PhD student who must devote the bulk of my efforts to
finishing my thesis. I firmly believe that the long-term success of
Kunkelfruit Wiki depends on the development of a core group of volunteer
editors and writers willing to research and publish articles to the site.
This kind of organizational development is clearly something at which the
Wikimedia Foundation excels.
My proposal: that the foundation take over the hosting and support of
Kunkelfruit Wiki as one of its projects. I believe it merits serious
consideration, as it is something that would:
* serve as a forum for the further development of your volunteers'
research skills
* provide a valuable source of information about products for
consumers
* encourage more responsible production by companies
I'd be happy to speak with anyone in more detail about Kunkelfruit Wiki.
Please know that I am not particularly attached to the name. But I am very
much interested in giving this project the best possible chance of success.
I believe that Wikimedia Foundation can greatly enhance this very realistic
possibility.
Regards,
Sean Miller