Hi Pine,
I think these are great questions for the discussions on Meta! I say that
sincerely, and with the intent of making sure that the questions, and any
responses, are captured in the next cycle.
May I urge you to repost them here:
wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Cycle_2?
Katherine
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 2:32 PM, Pine W <wiki.pine(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Katherine,
Thanks for sharing this update.
I have two general questions, not directed at anyone in particular, but
perhaps you or someone from the strategy leadership could comment.
1. The five themes articulate grand visions, but I wonder how realistic it
is that progress toward these visions could be provided with the necessary
resources.
For example, there have been many initiatives on growing communities over
the years, and it's unclear to me if any of these initiatives have led to
significant and sustained increases in content contributors (who are human
resources).
Changing focus to financial resources, I think that there is significant
room for improvement in the design and speed of our interfaces but
financial resources for design, engineering, and research paid staff have
been insufficient to close the gap between Wikipedia and other online
destinations such as Facebook and Google. My impression is that Wikipedia
is 10 to 15 years behind Facebook and Google in terms of our ease of use.
My question is, how could we dramatically expand our human and financial
resources so that we could have a realistic hope of achieving the goals
articulated in the strategy themes?
2. It seems to me that the Wikimedia universe has always had some tension
between priorities, such as privacy and transparency. I see similar tension
in these themes between the goal of having "projects flourish from the
healthy community we cultivate together" and the goal of "upholding our
standards for verifiable, neutral and comprehensive knowledge." The
verifiability and neutrality of content are frequently in dispute, and it
seems likely to me that this will always be the case. I am wondering how we
reconcile our goals of verifiable and neutral information, supporting the
value of freedom of expression, and cultivating healthy communities. I've
struggled with these questions myself and I don't think that there are
definitive answers, but perhaps someone involved in the strategy process
could talk about how to address situations where strategy goals are in
tension with each other.
Thank you,
Pine
On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 1:25 PM, Katherine Maher <kmaher(a)wikimedia.org>
wrote:
Hi all,
*Summary: Cycle 2 discussions have started on Meta-Wiki and a wiki near
you![1]*
The core team and working groups have completed reviewing the more than
1800 thematic statements we received from the first discussion. They have
identified 5 themes that were consistent across all the conversations -
each with their own set of sub-themes.[1] To be clear, these are not the
final themes! They are just an initial working draft of the core
concepts.
There are more conversations yet to come.
Starting this week, you are invited to join the online and offline
discussions taking place on these 5 themes. This round of discussions
will
take place between now and June 12th.[2] You can
discuss as many as you
like; we ask you to participate in the ones that are most (or least)
important to you.
For each theme, we are asking five questions. These questions are
intended
to help us understand the impact of these
potential themes and the
tradeoffs we will have to make. To succeed in any strategic venture, we
must not only declare what we will do, but also what we will not! If you
have research and other citable data related to your opinions, please
include them! Finally, we ask that you participate in an honest and
respectful manner.
Each theme has a page on Meta-WIki with more information about the theme
and how to participate in that theme's discussion. Here are the five
major
themes, and their brief descriptions:
*== Healthy, inclusive communities == [3]*
By 2030, the Wikimedia volunteer culture will be fun, rewarding, and
inclusive for both existing contributors and newcomers. We will welcome
new
volunteers to our movement and mentor them to
ensure that they have a
great
experience and continue to engage in the
projects. People from every
background will feel included in an ecosystem of unique groups and
organizations that deepen connections with each other. As a result, our
movement will grow both in size and in character, as our projects
flourish
from the healthy community we cultivate
together.
*== The augmented age == [4]*
By 2030, the Wikimedia movement will collaborate with learning machines
to
help our volunteers be much more creative and
productive. We will use
prediction and design to make knowledge easy to access and easy to use
with
novel, humanized, intelligent interfaces.
Volunteers will collaborate
with
machine translators to deepen the quality and
quantity of content in more
languages – at a heightened pace and scale. We will curate knowledge in
structured and interactive formats that enhance and reflect the way
people
learn and contribute — beyond the browser, the
app, and the encyclopedic
format. We will embrace technological innovation as the most viable path
toward meeting our vision.
*== A truly global movement == [5]*
The Wikimedia movement will turn our attention to the places in the world
that were underserved during the first 15 years of our history. We will
build awareness of Wikimedia and make it more useful to people. We will
overcome barriers to accessing knowledge, so more people can freely share
in the Wikimedia projects. We will support communities in underserved
parts
of the world and make space for new forms of
contribution and citations
that meet global knowledge traditions. By 2030, we will be a truly global
movement.
*== The most respected source of knowledge == [6]*
By 2030, Wikimedia projects will be regarded as the most trusted,
high-quality, neutral, and relevant source of free knowledge in the
world.
We will uphold the accuracy and verifiability of
our content by
integrating
high-quality secondary sources and supporting the
existence of reliable
sources in society. We will improve public understanding of the processes
that make Wikimedia reliable, and we will invite experts to join us and
share their knowledge. We will surface the most relevant information to
people when and where they need it. We will expand the depth of knowledge
available, while upholding our standards for verifiable, neutral and
comprehensive knowledge.
*== Engaging in the knowledge ecosystem == [7]*
By 2030, the Wikimedia Movement will have dramatically improved the
quality, diversity, and global availability of free knowledge by working
with diverse institutions and organizations that collaborate toward free
knowledge for all. Wikimedia content, technology, and communities will be
embedded in formal and informal learning throughout the world, in
partnership with the world’s leading institutions in education, the arts,
entertainment, civil society, government, science, and technology.
Through
strategic partnerships across our movement, we
will build a diverse new
generation of knowledge providers and seekers who will build and care
for a
growing body of freely accessible knowledge. We
will make Wikimedia an
integral part of a global knowledge ecosystem.
On the movement strategy portal on Meta-Wiki, you can find more
information about each of these themes, their discussions, and how to
participate.[2]
We also have efforts underway to collect feedback from people who are not
currently involved with Wikimedia - and may not even have internet
access.
We will be summarizing how we’re collecting this
information, and the
perspectives themselves, and sharing them on Meta-Wiki as they become
available.[2]
One more thing - hopefully you are already aware that we are in the final
days of the community selection process for the Wikimedia Foundation's
Board of Trustees![8]
If you are eligible to vote and have not already done so, please consider
doing so before voting ends at 23:59 (UTC) on Sunday, 14 May 2017. You
can
find out more information about the candidates
and how to vote on
Meta-WIki:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/?curid=10240438. Thank you!
مع أطيب التحيات (Arabic translation: “Best regards”)
Katherine
PS. A version of this message is available for translation on
Meta-Wiki.[9]
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_
movement/2017/Cycle_2
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_
movement/2017/Participate
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_
movement/2017/Cycle_2/Healthy,_Inclusive_Communities
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_
movement/2017/Cycle_2/The_Augmented_Age
[5]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_
movement/2017/Cycle_2/A_Truly_Global_Movement
[6]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_
movement/2017/Cycle_2/The_Most_Respected_Source_of_Knowledge
[7]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_
movement/2017/Cycle_2/Engaging_in_the_Knowledge_Ecosystem
[8]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_
elections/2017/Board_of_Trustees
[9]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_
movement/2017/Updates/12_May_2017_-_Update_16_on_Wikimedia_
movement_strategy_process
--
Katherine Maher
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
+1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635 <%28415%29%20839-6885>
+1 (415) 712 4873 <%28415%29%20712-4873>
kmaher(a)wikimedia.org
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Katherine Maher
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
+1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635
+1 (415) 712 4873
kmaher(a)wikimedia.org