Hello all,
it’s my great pleasure to announce that as of today, Toby Negrin is
joining the Wikimedia Foundation as the new Director of Analytics.
Toby will be responsible for leading the analytics team, which is
responsible for enabling data-driven decisions in the Wikimedia
Foundation and the broader Wikimedia community.
As of today, the team consists of: Diederik van Liere, Dario
Taraborelli, Andrew Otto, Evan Rosen, Dan Andreescu, Stefan Petrea
(contractor), Erik Zachte (part-time), and Aaron Halfaker
(contractor). Newly integrated into the team are Dario, Evan and
Aaron.
Toby joins us from DeNA (formerly ngmoco), a $2B Japanese mobile
gaming company where he was Director of Analytics in the US from 2011
to 2013. He enabled data-informed decision making throughout the
company, established an Insights team and scaled the Analytics team to
21 members. He managed a 300+ node Hadoop platform, multiple data
driven applications and led the effort to open source Mobilize, a
script deployment and dataviz framework developed in-house at DeNA.
Prior to DeNA, Toby was Director of Product Management for Cloud
Platforms and Hadoop at Yahoo! from 2008-2011. Leading 10 PMs at peak,
through this group Toby was responsible for interfacing between the
hundreds of internal users of analytics, storage and other cloud
services and the developers/maintainers of said infrastructure. There
aren’t many jobs that could prepare you for Wikimedia’s complex
network of analytics stakeholders, but this surely is one of them.
Toby has worked as a software engineer for many years and holds a BS
Equivalent in Computer Science from California State University, an
MBA from NIMBAS Graduate School of Management in Utrecht, and a BA in
Visual Culture and History from University of California, Santa Cruz.
After growing up in the Bay Area, Toby’s lived recently in Stockholm
and Amsterdam so he’s using his spare time to explore California’s
wilderness on two feet and two wheels with his family. His two
daughters keep him pretty busy!
Toby is looking forward to making the shift to a mission-driven
non-profit organization. When I asked him what he’d be doing if not
Wikimedia, he expressed an interest in urban planning, green cities,
and public transport. In an alternative universe, San Francisco is
becoming a greener city with a more reliable public transport system.
In this one, we get awesome Wikimedia analytics instead. There are
always tradeoffs. ;-)
Toby’s incredibly excited about working with the team to tackle
Wikimedia’s analytics challenges and the increasing hunger for data
across the organization and the movement. Please join me in welcoming
him on board. :-)
All best,
Erik
--
Erik Möller
VP of Engineering and Product Development, Wikimedia Foundation
Note: German (Deutsch) and Spanish (Español) versions are below.
***English***
Hi all,
We want to direct your attention to our blog post (
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/14/prism-surveillance-wikimedia/ )
about the PRISM situation involving government intelligence
surveillance on the Internet. We are asking for Wikimedia community
feedback on a proposed course of action (
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/PRISM ). In short, we are inclined to
recommend that the Wikimedia Foundation collaborate with organizations
including Mozilla, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Free
Software Foundation, and the Center for Democracy and Technology.
These groups have now prepared an open letter to the US congress
(https://www.stopwatching.us/ ), calling for transparency,
investigation, reform, and accountability, and have asked other
organizations (including the Wikimedia Foundation) to join them in
their efforts.
We ask you to read the blog post for more details, and encourage you
to tell us your views on this.
Many thanks,
Geoff and Luis
Geoff Brigham
General Counsel
Luis Villa
Deputy General Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
Note: We expect to have a couple more translations of this
announcement in the next couple of days. We would like to ask the
international Wikimedia community to help translate the blog posting
and feedback page (which are almost the same) as well as people’s
feedback given throughout the course of this consultation period. Due
to tight time limits, we hope to have professional translations for
these documents posted by next Tuesday for at least German, French,
Spanish, and Japanese.
___________
***Deutsch***
Hallo,
Wir würden eure Aufmerksamkeit gern auf unseren Blogeintrag (
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/14/prism-surveillance-wikimedia/ )
zur PRISM-Situation und geheimdienstlicher Überwachung des Internets
lenken. Wir bitten die Wikimediagemeinschaften um Rückmeldung zum
vorgeschlagenen Vorgehen. (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/PRISM)
Kurz zusammengefasst tendieren wir dazu zu empfehlen, dass die
Wikimedia Foundation mit Organisationen wie Mozilla, der Electronic
Frontier Foundation, der Free Software Foundation und dem Zentrum für
Demokratie und Technologie zusammenarbeitet. Diese Gruppen haben einen
offenen Brief an den Kongress der Vereinigten Staaten
(https://www.stopwatching.us/) vorbereitet um Transparenz,
Untersuchung der Vorgänge, Reform sowie Rechenschaftspflicht
einzufordern und haben andere Organisationen (einschließlich der
Wikimedia Foundation) darum gebeten dieses Vorhaben zu unterstützen.
Wir bitten euch den Blogeintrag mit den zugehörigen Details zu lesen
und uns eure Meinung zu dem Vorschlag mitzuteilen.
Vielen Dank,
Geoff und Luis
Geoff Brigham
General Counsel
Luis Villa
Deputy General Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
Hinweis: Wir würden die internationale WIkimediagemeinschaft gern
darum bitten bei der Übersetzung des Blogeintrags und der
Feedbackseite (die beiden sind fast identisch) sowie der Rückmeldungen
aus der Community während der Konsultationsperiode mitzuhelfen. Durch
die kurze Vorbereitungszeit hoffen wir bis Dienstag zumindest
professionelle Übersetzungen für die Dokumente zumindest in Deutsch,
Französisch, Spanisch und Japanisch zu haben.
_______________
***Español***
Hola,
Queremos dirigir su atención a nuestra entrada en el blog (
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/14/prism-surveillance-wikimedia/ )
sobre la situación PRISM involucra la vigilancia de inteligencia del
gobierno en Internet. Estamos pidiendo Wikimedia retroalimentación de
la comunidad sobre un curso de acción propuesto. (
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/PRISM ) En resumen, nos sentimos
inclinados a recomendar que la Fundación Wikimedia colaborar con
organizaciones como Mozilla, la Fundación Fronteras Electrónicas, la
Fundación para el software libre y el Centro para la Democracia y la
Tecnología. Estos grupos han preparado una carta abierta al Congreso
de EE.UU. (https://www.stopwatching.us/), exigiendo la transparencia,
la investigación, la reforma y la rendición de cuentas, y han pedido a
otras organizaciones (entre ellas la Fundación Wikimedia) a unirse a
ellos en sus esfuerzos.
Le pedimos que lea el blog para más detalles, y le animamos a decirnos
sus puntos de vista sobre esto.
Muchas gracias,
Geoff y Luis
Geoff Brigham
General Counsel
Luis Villa
Deputy General Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
Nota: Nos gustaría pedir a la comunidad internacional Wikimedia para
ayudar a traducir la entrada de blog y la página de comentarios (que
son casi lo mismo), así como la retroalimentación de las usuarios que
recibieron durante este período de consulta. Debido a los plazos
ajustados, esperamos contar con traducciones profesionales para los
documentos enviados por el próximo martes por lo menos alemán,
francés, español y japonés.
Hi all,
the new bulletin from Wikimedia Italia (#53) is available. This time
we write about Amsterdam Hackathon 2013, the contest Veneto in
Wikipedia, searches for people, and our next appointments.
As usual a link has been added to meta, at
Wikimedia_chapters/Reports/Wikimedia_Italia ; more-or-less raw text of
the bulletin follows below.
ciao, .mau.
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
__NOTOC__
[[Image:Wikimedia news1.png|400px|center]]
{{titolo errato|titolo=Wikimedia news}}{{WMNpubblico|53|May 29, 2013}}
----
[[File:Wikimedia_Hackathon_2013.jpg|thumb|400px|center| "Working
Group" - By Sebastiaan ter Burg from Utrecht, The Netherlands
(Wikimedia Hackathon 2013) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons]]
== Amsterdam Hackathon 2013 ==
Over the weekend from May 24 to 26, the
[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Hackathon_2013 Wikimedia
Hackathon 2013] was held in Amsterdam. The annual gathering, which
brings together all Wikimedian interested in the development of
MediaWiki and other Wikimedia projects, was organized by Wikimedia
Nederland and was held at the
[http://www.stayokay.com/en/hostel/amsterdam-zeeburg Stayokay hostel].
There were about a hundred Wikimedian; the participants appreciate the
Dutch organization which was impeccable.
[[:it:Utente:CristianCantoro|Cristian]] (''vicepresident of Wikimedia
Italia'') was present on behalf of Wikimedia Italia and
[[:commons:Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2013/Who's_who | Wiki Loves
Monuments international group]].
In addition to numerous other projects,
[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Labs Wikimedia Labs] were
presented: tjey are the new infrastructure that will manage the
development of new tools for Wikimedia sites.
== Wikimedia Italia is hiring ==
Are you determined, do you like to work in teams, to interact with the
public? Are you willing to learn some new computer program?! Then read
[http://wiki.wikimedia.it/wiki/Ricerca_collaboratori the announcement
for a secretarial employee] published by Wikimedia Italia. Our staff
is growing! All specifications can be found on the dedicated page:
here we anticipate that the workplace is in Monza (with occasional
short trips) and that the type of commitment required will be 20 hours
per week (horizontal or vertical part-time).
The announcement is aimed at candidates of both sexes (L.125/91) and
will remain valid until 15 June 2013.
If you are interested, send your CV and a presentation letter to the
email address lavoro(a)wikimedia.it.
== Veneto in Wikipedia ==
[http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progetto:Coordinamento/Scuole/Autori_in_Wikipe…
Veneto in Wikipedia] is a competition, organized by our member
Professor Corrado Petrucco from the University of Padua together with
Enrica Pagano and Simonetta Boscolo in collaboration with Wikimedia
Italia, planned to invite classes of students of schools of all levels
to create or improve entries on Wikipedia. Monday, June 3 a meeting
will be held for the closure of the project. [[:it:User:Cotton|
Cotton]] will participate for Wikimedia Italia: Cotton will talk in
particular about the criteria used for the evaluation of new entries
in Wikipedia created by the children. At the conclusion of the meeting
the best work will be awarded. The event will take place from 16:00 at
the "Einaudi Gramsci" institute (via delle Palme, 1 35137 Padova);
[http://wiki.wikimedia.it/wiki/File:Locandina_veneto_in_wikipedia.pdf
here] the complete program.
== Wikimedia Foundation is looking for Italian-speaking people ==
The Engineering and Product Developement department of the Wikimedia
Foundation is looking for two or thres
[http://article.gmane.org/gmane.org.wikimedia.foundation/66337
Community Liaison, Product Development], i.e. representatives of the
local Wikimedian community who will act as intermediaries between
users and the engineering team, supporting them in the activation
phase of new extensions on the sites of projects of the Wikimedia
Foundation.
This would be a task for a period of about 3 months, which requires a
minimum commitment of 15 hours per week. In particular the urgent need
at the moment is on the launch of
[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/VisualEditor Visual Editor] on
Wikipedia in different languages; they will need, for example, to
explain to their community the news and manage useful feedback tools
significant to the computer development department.
Basic requirements are knowledge of the English language (as well as
Italian), years of experience as active users on Wikimedia sites (not
just Wikipedia) and excellent communication skills.
To apply, you must write to Philippe Beaudette at pbeaudette(a)wikimedia.org.
Read through the requirements and then, if you know you have a few
free hours to devote each day, you can apply or invite some Wikimedian
friend to do so.
== Pages most seen on Italian Wikipedia ==
The list with the [http://stats.grok.se/it/top most visited articles
in Italian Wikipedia] has just be updated. Reading it provided an
insight on how users make use of the free encyclopedia. In April, for
example, Italian politics and television series are the most browsed
categories of voices.
== Next appointments ==
* '''May 30, Crema''': [[:it:Utente:Virginia_Gentilini|Virginia
Gentilini]] will speak at the conference
[http://opac.provincia.cremona.it/library/home-RBC/viaggio-nel-mondo-del-lib…''
Librarians tell themselves: challenges, opportunities and alliances'']
organized by the Cremona Libraries' Network, talking of the
relationship between Wikipedia and the world of libraries. What does
it mean to be ''Wikipedian librarians''? Citing his personal
experience, Virginia will attempt to answer this question, revealing
the possible future developments of the librarian's role and its
relationship with users. The meeting
([http://opac.provincia.cremona.it/sites/brescia/assets/UFF.-BIBLIOTECHE-CREM…
here] the full program) will begin at 9:30 am and will take place at
the S. Pietro da Cemmo Hall of the S. Agostino Augustine (Museo Civico
- piazza Winifred Terni de Gregory). You can
[http://opac.provincia.cremona.it/library/home-RBC/form-iscrizione-convegno/
register online]. Other information may be obtained by phone
(0372/406283) or e-mail: cultura(a)provincia.cremona.it.
*''June 8, Bologna''': after the success of the meeting of May 4, it
was decided to replicate the laboratory on Wikipedia aimed at
beginners. The course, part of the cycle
[http://www.bibliotecasalaborsa.it/eventi/23821 Wikipedia in the
Library], is free and will be held again by [[:it:Utente:P tasso|P
tasso]]. The appointment is at 15:00 in the Sala Internet (hall of
Bramante) of [http://www.bibliotecasalaborsa.it/home.php Salaborsa
Library] of Bologna.
*'''10 June, Bologna''': [[:it:User:Virginia_Gentilini | Virginia
Gentilini]] and [[:it:User:Atropine | Atropine]] will hold an
introductory meeting on Wikipedia at the center of documentation of
the Arcigay in Bologna, "Il Cassero", starting at about 17.00. This
will be an informal chat in the hope of establishing a more structured
collaboration in the future. The official website of the center is
[http://www.cassero.it/www.cassero.it], but it is currently under
renovation, so we suggest you also check their
[https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cassero-LGBT-center/192581134090979
official facebook page] for all the updates.
*''' 27 May and 3 June, Bagno a Ripoli (FI)''': at the
[http://biblioteca.comune.bagno-a-ripoli.fi.it/opencms/opencms/Contenuti/Cat…
Municipal Library], introductory course to Wikipedia for users (from
16.30 to 18.30). Teacher: [[:it:Utente:Giaccai|Susanna Giaccai]].
*'''5 And 12 June, Borgo San Lorenzo (Florence)''': introductory
course to Wikipedia for librarians, at the computer room at the Union
of Municipalities of Montana Mugello (from 9 to 13). Teacher:
[http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utente:Giaccai Susanna Giaccai].
Hi all,
On Friday, the Legal and Community Advocacy team posted a call for
community input on our trademark policy and practices:
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/07/call-for-community-input-trademark-pol…
We have identified some trademark practices that we think are going well,
as well as some areas that could be improved. We have also raised specific
questions for discussion and seen great community engagement on this issue.
To date, community members have provided excellent input on how the
trademark policy can be clarified [1] and started translating our initial
trademark statement [2] into German, Greek, Spanish, French, Hebrew,
Italian, Korean, Russian, and Swedish to make the discussion more
approachable internationally. We would like to get as many community
members as possible to participate in the discussion and look forward to
your comments.
Many thanks for your wisdom and help with this!
Yana Welinder, Legal Counsel
References:
[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Trademark_practices_discussion
[2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trademark_practices_discussion
FYI :)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Erik Moeller <erik(a)wikimedia.org>
Date: Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 9:17 AM
Subject: Welcome to Ken Snider, Wikimedia Operations
To: Wikimedia developers <wikitech-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Hello all,
I’m delighted to announce that Ken Snider is joining the Wikimedia
operations team. He will start as an international contractor working
remotely from Toronto, Canada on June 10, and will be visiting SF in
the week of June 17. We’re currently in the process of seeking work
authorization in the United States in the Director of TechOps
position.
CT has graciously agreed to support the ops leadership transition
full-time through June, and part-time through July. We’ll be starting
the handover while Ken is working remotely.
A bit more about Ken: Ken was apparently genetically predisposed to
become a sysadmin since he joined one of Canada’s first large ISPs,
Primus, straight out of school in 1997 and helped build their
infrastructure til 2001. He then joined a startup called OpenCOLA in
2001 which was co-founded by Cory Doctorow and developed early P2P
precursors to tools like BitTorrent and Steam. It’s best known today
for the development of an open source (GPL’d) cola recipe which is
still in use (more than 150,000 cans sold if Wikipedia is to be
believed).
Ken got involved in one of Cory’s pet projects, BoingBoing.net which
some of you may have heard of ;-), and has been their sysadmin since
2003. After a stint from 2001-2005 at DataWire, Ken became Director of
Tech Ops at Federated Media, a role he held from 2005-2012.
Federated Media is an ad network that was founded to support high
traffic blogs and sites that want to stay independent of large
publishers, with a network that supports more than 1B requests/day.
One of the unusual challenges at FM was that the company grew through
acquisitions of various blogging and publishing networks. This led to
the challenge of integrating very heterogeneous operations and
engineering infrastructure, including multiple geographically
distributed ops teams and data-center locations. As DTO, Ken led these
efforts, such as OS standardization, development of a unified
deployment infrastructure, etc. Ken also ensured that the operations
group partnered effectively with the various engineering teams
developing site features and enhancements.
I want to again take this opportunity to thank CT Woo for his tireless
operations leadership since December 2010. I’d also like to thank
everyone who’s participated in the Director of TechOps search process.
Please join me in welcoming Ken to the Wikimedia Foundation and the
community. :-)
All best,
Erik
--
Erik Möller
VP of Engineering and Product Development, Wikimedia Foundation
--
Erik Möller
VP of Engineering and Product Development, Wikimedia Foundation