Hi all,
please find below the WMF report for June 2012, in plain text.
As always, the editable and formatted version has been published on Meta: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Report,_June_2012
and the reports are posted on the Wikimedia blog, too: https://blog.wikimedia.org/c/corporate/wmf-monthly-reports/
As usual, we are also publishing a separate "Highlights" summary. Please consider helping non-English-language communities to stay updated, by providing a translation: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_June_2012 Many thanks to those who translated last month's "Highlights" into Arabic, Danish, French, Japanese, Macedonian, Dutch, Russian and Turkish.
While still focussing on WMF activities, the "Highlights" include a small selection of the most noteworthy events from the whole movement. Suggestions for the upcoming July issue are welcome at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Highlights (until August 2).
Regards, Tilman
-- Wikimedia Foundation Report, June 2012
* 1 Data and Trends * 2 Financials * 3 Highlights o 3.1 Advisory group discusses future funds dissemination structure o 3.2 Second Visual Editor prototype launched o 3.3 "Teahouse" pilot concludes with encouraging results o 3.4 Hackers convene in Berlin * 4 Technology o 4.1 Events o 4.2 Operations o 4.3 Features Engineering o 4.4 Internationalization and Editor Engagement Experiments o 4.5 Mobile Engineering o 4.6 Platform Engineering * 5 Fundraising o 5.1 Major Gifts and Foundations o 5.2 Fundraiser * 6 Global Development o 6.1 Grants Program + 6.1.1 Grants Awarded and Executed + 6.1.2 Participation Support o 6.2 Fellowships o 6.3 Editor Growth and Contribution Program o 6.4 Brazil Catalyst o 6.5 Arabic Language Initiative o 6.6 US Cultural Partnerships o 6.7 Mobile and Business Development o 6.8 Wikipedia Education Program o 6.9 India Programs + 6.9.1 Indic Languages + 6.9.2 India Outreach + 6.9.3 India Communications o 6.10 Community support o 6.11 Program support o 6.12 Communications + 6.12.1 Major announcements + 6.12.2 Major Storylines through March + 6.12.3 Other worthwhile reads + 6.12.4 Wikipedia Signpost + 6.12.5 WMF Blog posts + 6.12.6 Media Contact * 7 Human Resources o 7.1 Statistics o 7.2 Department Updates * 8 Finance and Administration * 9 Legal and Community Advocacy * 10 Visitors and Guests
== Data and Trends ==
Global unique visitors for May:
*492.39 million* (4.02% compared with April; 19.79% compared with the previous year) (comScore data for all Wikimedia Foundation projects; comScore will release June data later in July)
Page requests for June:
*18.1 billion* (+0.2% compared with May; +22.7% compared with the previous year) (Server log data http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesPageViewsMonthlyAllProjects.htm, all Wikimedia Foundation projects including mobile access)
Active Registered Editors for May 2012 (>= 5 edits/month):
*85,200* (+0.38% compared with April / +3.25% compared with the previous year) (Database data http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/graphs/active_editors, all Wikimedia Foundation projects except for Wikimedia Commons. Note: In the near future, we will be moving to a metric that takes into account SUL and Wikimedia Commons.)
*Report Card* (integrating various statistical data and trends about WMF projects) for May 2012:
http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/
== Financials ==
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_Revenue_and_Expenses_May_2012.pn... Wikimedia Foundation YTD Revenue and Expenses vs Plan as of May 31, 2012> <Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_YTD_Expenses_May_2012.png%3E Wikimedia Foundation YTD Expenses by Functions as of May 31, 2012>
(Financial information is only available through May 2012 at the time of this report.)
All financial information presented is for the period of July 1, 2011 - May 31, 2012.
Revenue $ 35,563,497 *Expenses:* Technology Group $ 10,979,122 Community/Fundraiser Group $ 3,612,603 Global Development Group $ 3,882,629 Governance Group $ 863,259 Finance/Legal/HR/Admin Group $ 6,127,792 Total Expenses $ 25,465,405 Total surplus/(loss) $ 10,098,092
* Revenue for the month is $659K vs plan of $162K, approximately $497K or 306% over plan. * Year-to-date is $35.6MM vs plan of $29MM, approximately $6.6MM or 23% over plan. * Expenses for the month is $3.4MM vs plan of $2.2MM, approximately $1.2MM or 50% higher than plan, largely due to catching up on planned capital expenditures. * Year-to-date is $25.5MM vs plan of $ 25.7MM, approximately $252K or 1% lower than plan. * Cash position is $29.1MM as of May 31, 2012 which is approximately 12.5 months of expenses.
== Highlights ==
=== Advisory group discusses future funds dissemination structure ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FDC_Advisory_Group_3.JPG The FDC advisory group meeting in San Francisco>
On June 9-10, the advisory group for the formation of the future Funds Dissemination Committee https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for_the_Creation_and_Initial_Operation_of_the_FDC (FDC) met at the Foundation's offices in San Francisco https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/FDC_Advisory_Group_meeting_June_9-10,_2012. Community volunteers, Wikimedia Trustees, chapter representatives, Foundation staff and members of the Bridgespan Group discussed how the FDC will guide the decisions about the distribution of money (over 10 million US dollars in 2012-13) among the Foundation, chapters and other groups. Based on the resulting recommendations, the Board of Trustees has since approved https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Funds_Dissemination_Committee_framework_and_initial_operation the charter and initial operation of the FDC. Wikimedians who wish to serve on the FDC are invited to nominate themselves https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Nominations.
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Visual_Editor-logo.svg%3E Logo of the Visual Editor project>
=== Second Visual Editor prototype launched ===
A new prototype of the "visual editor" for Wikimedia projects was launched https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/21/help-us-shape-wikimedias-prototype-visual-editor/, the first release that can create and edit pages. It will enable users to contribute without having to learn complicated wikitext syntax.
=== "Teahouse" pilot concludes with encouraging results ===
The Teahouse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse, where new Wikipedia editors can receive support from experienced community members, concluded its three month pilot phase https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/15/wikipedia-teahouse-pilot-helps-new-editors-make-contributions/ on the English Wikipedia, publishing a report https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse/Pilot_report and metrics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse/Host_lounge/Metrics. 568 volunteers participated in the pilot. In a survey, 70% said that they were satisfied with their Teahouse experience, while only 5% were not satisfied. New editors who are invited to the Teahouse made many more edits afterwards than those who do not receive an invitation. 28 percent of Teahouse participants are women, compared to 9 percent of editors on Wikipedia in general.
=== Hackers convene in Berlin ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Berlin_Hackathon_-_2012-06... A panoramic view of the Berlin Hackathon>
Over 100 participants from 30 countries came to Berlin https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/02/diverse-wikimedia-tech-crowd-gathers-in-berlin/ for the Berlin Hackathon https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Berlin_Hackathon_2012, co-organized by Wikimedia Deutschland and the Foundation. They included MediaWiki developers, Toolserver users, systems administrators, bot writers and maintainers, Gadget creators, and other Wikimedia technologists. The community also learned more about the Wikidata https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikidata and RENDER https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/RENDER projects.
== Technology ==
A detailed report of the Tech Department's activities for June 2012 can be found at:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_engineering_report/2012/June
=== Events ===
The Berlin Hackathon took place in the German capital (see "Highlights" section).
=== Operations ===
IPV6 Launch day (6/6/12) came and went without much fanfare, and we launched IPv6 support for all Wikimedia projects https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IPv6_initiative/2012_IPv6_Day_announcement. We have been keeping IPV6 traffic on since.
Also, regarding data dumps https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/WMF_Projects/Data_Dumps, media downloads per project are now live, along with one or two "incremental" downloads per month. We're looking for more mirror sites for media, dumps or pageview stats; send us ideas!
And the Ops team has identified a new San Francisco colocation to be the new West Coast caching center. Work on building up the infrastructure is planned to begin this coming August/September. With this caching center, we will be able to improve users' site experience for the North American West Coast and Asia Pacific.
=== Features Engineering ===
The team did the first deployment of VisualEditor and Parsoid https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/21/help-us-shape-wikimedias-prototype-visual-editor/, with an early version now live in a test namespace on mediawiki.org. This editor is broadly feature-compatible with the old code which this replaces, while being the first release that can create and edit pages. The team is now planning to deploy new code to mediawiki.org as it develops every two weeks or so.
We deployed an updated version of the New Pages Feed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Special:NewPagesFeed (formerly called Page Triage https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Page_Triage) on the English Wikipedia. This new tool provides an enhanced list of pages for review by community patrollers. The team also deployed the first version of a new curation toolbar to appear on article pages, enabling patrollers to get more article info, mark pages as reviewed, or tag them. You can check out the current prototype https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:NewPagesFeed on the English Wikipedia, as well as the latest version http://ee-prototype.wmflabs.org/wiki/Special:NewPagesFeed on Wikimedia Labs.
With the engineering community team, features engineers also worked on scripts, gadgets, templates, and other tools to make it easier to document and report their work.
Features engineers also put up a demo http://rl2.wmflabs.org/ of the newest version of mw:ResourceLoader https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/ResourceLoader, nearly finished a new MediaWiki extension to help with the Wikipedia Education Program https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Education_Program, worked on code integration and migration for the fundraiser https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/2012_Wikimedia_fundraiser, and more.
=== Internationalization and Editor Engagement Experiments ===
The Article Feedback Tool https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_feedback/Version_5 (AFT5): This month, the team completed primary feature development for this tool, including the article feedback page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:ArticleFeedbackv5/San_Francisco, the central feedback page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:ArticleFeedbackv5, and the final feedback form https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco?aftv5_form=6 (scroll to bottom of page). We started writing and publishing new documentation about this project, including this help page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback/Help/Editors. Dario Taraborelli https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:DarTar, Aaron Halfaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:EpochFail and Oliver Keyes https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Okeyes_(WMF) published a full report https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/25/converting-readers-into-editors-new-results-from-article-feedback-v5/ that suggests that people who post feedback are more likely to edit articles afterwards. We have started a wider deployment of AFT, which will gradually increase our coverage to 10% of the English encyclopedia by the end of July, with full deployment a couple months later.
The internationalisation team completed initial UI design and user experience testing for the Universal Language Selector (ULS), and is now developing an initial prototype.
=== Mobile Engineering ===
The mobile team developed and showcased a first version of a Wiki Loves Monuments mobile application https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Monuments_mobile_application, released the official Wiktionary Android app (developed by https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/19/announcing-the-official-wiktionary-android-app/ student volunteers https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/UCOSP_Spring_2012), and released new versions of Wikipedia applications for Android and iOS https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps that use a new content selection API for mobile apps. They also made significant progress on a new navigation UI https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Mobile_design/Wikipedia_navigation, an early version of which was released on the mobile beta site, and switched some sibling projects to become "mobile default" https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Mobile_default_for_sibling_projects.
We've been making significant progress recently to secure the necessary partnerships that will make it possible to provide Wikipedia over SMS https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikipedia_over_SMS_%26_USSD. Also, we've been conducting Wikipedia Zero https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Zero tests with Orange in six different countries, and are testing and refining with partners in Bangladesh and Montenegro.
=== Platform Engineering ===
During its work in June, the MediaWiki core team completed or prepared multiple MediaWiki deployments to Wikimedia sites https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.20/Roadmap, led tutorial sessions on Lua scripting https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Lua_scripting/Tutorial, moved many more MediaWiki extensions to Git https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Git/Conversion and improved Gerrit's IRC logging, and investigated moving from PHP 5.3 to PHP 5.4.
Also, work has started on a more complete set of requirements and user stories for OAuth https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/OAuth. Chris Steipp https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:CSteipp put out a call for user stories https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/OAuth/User_stories. Comments are welcome on the wikitech-l mailing list thread about OAuth http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.science.linguistics.wikipedia.technical/61692, and/or the OAuth talk page https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Talk:OAuth.
The Quality Assurance/testing team focused on hiring the QA Engineer http://hire.jobvite.com/Jobvite/Job.aspx?j=odKnWfw0&c=qSa9VfwQ and Volunteer QA Coordinator http://hire.jobvite.com/Jobvite/Job.aspx?j=oX4sWfw9&c=qSa9VfwQ. They also worked on testing mw:Article Feedback https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_Feedback (including via an event on IRC with OpenHatch and new testing volunteers https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_feedback/Testing_June_2012), and are working to turn Wikimedia Labs into a suitable test environment. Timo Tijhof https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Krinkle is working on setting up the new TestSwarm in Wikimedia Labs.
The Analytics team worked on benchmarking for some of its analysis/logging software https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Analytics/Kraken, improvements to logging for pageviews https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Analytics/Pageview_logging, and on improvements for the monthly report card https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Analytics/Reportcard. And the Engineering Community Team continued its work of volunteer coordination and outreach, documentation, and facilitation of "20%" work https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_engineering_20%25_policy.
== Fundraising ==
=== Major Gifts and Foundations ===
* We hired Sara Lasner as the Development Outreach Manager. * Jonathan Curiel attended the Knight Foundation's conference.
=== Fundraiser ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victor_Grigas_interviewing_Anton_Koz... Victor interviewing an editor in Saint Petersburg, Russia>
* Interviewed attendees at the Berlin hackathon * Conducted donor research and prepared for the 2012 fundraiser with the German chapter * Interviewed 20 Wikipedians in Russia and researched improvements to make for the Russia campaign to test in July * Collaborated with Swedish chapter to optimize the fundraiser and translations in Sweden * Prepared to interview attendees at Wikimania in July * Weekly testing continued, see Fundraising 2012/We Need A Breakthrough https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_2012/We_Need_A_Breakthrough * New additions to payment methods: Amazon Payments, Google Checkout and Yandex (Russian E-wallet). These methods should be tested soon. * We hired Adam Wight, fundraising engineer.
== Global Development ==
Global Development Highlights
* Funds dissemination advisory group meetings took place in San Francisco on 9 June and 10 June (see general "Highlights" section <#Highlights>)
=== Grants Program ===
* Localization: grants instructions page translated into more than 12 languages
==== Grants Awarded and Executed ====
* Amical / GLAM outreach https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Amical/Glam_%26_outreach * Ada Initiative / AdaCamp DC https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Ada_Initiative,_Inc./AdaCamp_DC_Funding * Wikimedia Norway / Nordic Chapter meeting https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Wikimedia_Norway/Nordic_Chapter_Meeting_2012 * Wikimedia Serbia / GLAM Start Up https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_RS/GLAM_Start_Up * User:Smallbones / Congressional Cemetery QRpedia Project https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:User:Smallbones/Congressional_Cemetery_QRpedia_Project * Wikimedia South Africa / Gauteng Meeting https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_ZA/Gauteng_meeting * ITOCA / South Africa train-the-trainer workshop https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:ITOCA/Train-the-trainer_South_Africa_workshop * Wikimedia Ukraine - Programs 2012 https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_UA/Programs_in_Ukraine_2012
=== Participation Support ===
* Localization: Participation Support instructions page translated into 5 languages
=== Fellowships ===
* We launched the Fellowship News https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fellowship_News, a monthly digest containing updates on each fellowship project.
* Teahouse Project (see also "Highlights" section) - Both the pilot project report https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Teahouse/Pilot_Report and metrics report https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Teahouse/Metrics are now complete. Based on pilot learnings and community feedback, we’ve developed a plan for phase 2 https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Teahouse/Phase_2_plan of the project, which will run through October. The project team and community volunteers are beginning work on this phase with a focus on building scalability and long-term sustainability into the Teahouse, and continuing to demonstrate the project’s impact on new editor engagement and retention.
* Help Project - Peter launched a survey to better understand how new and experienced editors currently use Wikipedia’s help documentation, and preliminary results https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_Project/June_2012_survey are being compiled. Scripts are complete for the first in-person usability tests of key help pages, which are scheduled to begin in early July. More project updates are available in the Help Project Newsletter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_Project/Newsletter.
* Dispute Resolution Project - Steven has collated his survey results and an analysis of dispute resolution forum activity metrics is in progress. The full survey report will be released soon, meanwhile a monthly update https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Steven_Zhang/Dispute_resolution_fellowship/June_report containing preliminary findings is now available.
* Small Wiki Editor Engagement Project - Tanvir has been leading discussions with the Bangla community to identify barriers and opportunities for on-wiki strategies https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Small_Wiki_Editor_Engagement_Project/Report/Monthly_(May-June_2012) that can be done to encourage more new editors on Bangla Wikipedia. Input is now being collected from readers in order to help prioritize experiments and plan tactics aimed at encouraging more would-be and new editors.
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Editor_Growth_and_Contribution_Progr... Logo of the Editor Growth and Contribution Program>
=== Editor Growth and Contribution Program ===
* The contribution portal https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A7:%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9 has been launched on Arabic Wikipedia, banners are running to drive logged-in users to the portal page which contains 6 visual tutorials, and baseline metrics are now being collected. Experimental changes are planned for each coming week.
=== Brazil Catalyst https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Brazil_Catalyst_Project ===
Catalyst Program planning
* Released catalyst program planning page to open debate with community members * Discussions took place on Meta, IRC and in person * Engaged and interacted with people I (Oona) hadn't met yet * Published a draft on the job position for community organizer (nobody commented on the page - which is a sign of both people not feeling comfortable to add ideas when it doesn't seem a draft and also not too controversial)
Education Program
* Released open call for professors for the education program (worked with Everton on writing the call, contacting professors, preparing FAQ page, reviewing online form) * Planning wrap-up * Continuity of Everton's Contract
Invitations for events and partnerships
* International Federation of Medical Students' Associations of Brazil (IFMSA) http://www.ifmsabrazil.org/ - for working with the education program as a project that can result on certificates for medicine students * Sebrae-RS http://www.sebrae-rs.com.br/ - Feira do Empreendedor (they want not only an institutional lecture from Oona but also are opening a laboratory for Wikimedia to run workshops there - need to share with RS community) * Fiocruz http://portal.fiocruz.br/ (Núcleo Next and Library) - two departments under debate for more strategic partnering on social and pair validation of content * National Library - follow up to be continued (National Library is about to release a digital library) * Ministry of Culture (participation in debate on Economy of Culture, cultural networks and communities)
=== Arabic Language Initiative ===
Barry Answering Questions 6 - Computer.theora.ogv <Video: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barry_Answering_Questions_6_-_Comput... Barry Newstead answering questions about the Arabic Language Initiative>
* Drafted the initiative's strategic plan https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_Development/Arabic_Language_Initiative_strategic_plan * Posted a job summary http://hire.jobvite.com/Jobvite/Job.aspx?j=oC9tWfwU&c=qSa9VfwQ for the Arabic initiative director, see our blog post: "Who will lead the Arabic Language Initiative? http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/16/who-will-lead-the-arabic-language-initiative/". * In collaboration with the Twitter-based initiative Taghreedat http://www.taghreedat.com/, a series of editing workshops is being organized in Dubai (http://thenextweb.com/me/2012/05/30/taghreedat-launches-arabic-wikipedia-edi...) and Qatar. The first took place on June 20 in Abu Dhabi with more than 80 participants.
=== US Cultural Partnerships ===
* Facilitated dialogue surrounding the establishment of a GLAM-Wiki US Consortium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/US/Consortium, which will be launched during Wikimania * Preparations for Wikimania, including the GLAM Night Out https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM_Night_Out event at the Newseum, multiple presentations and panels, and support for the Wikipedia Loves Libraries https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries workshop
=== Mobile and Business Development ===
* Launched our first on-the-ground marketing of Free Access to Wikipedia on Mobile with Orange in Tunisia. Orange put up over 100,000 flyers, 100 street pole posters, and noticeboards at 11 universities. Also, they ran radio ads to reach people that haven't accessed information on their mobile phones before. See http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/20/marketing-free-knowledge-on-mobile-in-a...
* Completed our second FULL launch of Free Mobile on Wikipedia (after Digi in Malaysia), which occured on Orange's network in Niger.
* Continued testing and/or soft launches of Wikipedia Zero (or Free m. access) in seven countries: Uganda, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Montenegro, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Cameroon.
=== Wikipedia Education Program ===
* Professor in Argentina teaches with Wikipedia: A blog post recently published highlighted the work being done in Argentina by Professor Lila Pagola at the University of Villa Maria. Professor Pagola teaches a course on the history of photography for which she asks her students to contribute article to the Spanish Wikipedia on course-related topics. http://www.ludost.org/content/wikimedia-education
* New Case Studies brochure released: Professors around the world share their experiences using Wikipedia as a teaching tool in a new brochure developed by the Wikimedia Foundation. "Case Studies: How professors are teaching with Wikipedia" has an online component to each feature, where interested professors can get more information about the assignment, including the professor's course page on wiki, syllabus, and assignment. Fifteen professors from six countries are featured in the brochure. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_Education_Program_Case_Studies.pdf
* Application process opens for U.S., Canada classes: New for fall 2012, professors from the United States and Canada interested in participating in the Wikipedia Education Program will need to apply to join the program. With increasing demand for support from Ambassadors, we need to prioritize classes that are contributing the most content – words or illustrations – to Wikipedia articles, so we've created an application process designed to better pair professors with Ambassadors. http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Education_Program/US-Canada/Join
* Canadian professor writes of her experience: University of British Columbia Professor Tina Loo published a blog post on the Network in Canadian History and Environment (NiCHE) site about why she was happy to use Wikipedia in her classroom last term. Professor Loo's students wrote on North American environmental history topics, and she found the assignment to be well worth her efforts. http://niche-canada.org/node/10397
* Cairo conference celebrates pilot successes: Wikimedia Foundation staff and Cairo Pilot professors, Ambassadors, and students are gathering at Ain Shams University in Cairo this week for a celebration of the initial successes of the pilot program. Students in seven classes at Ain Shams and Cairo University participated in the pilot program this term, contributing the equivalent of 372 pages of content to the Arabic Wikipedia, even with the political turmoil present the entire term. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cairo_conference_agenda.pdf
=== India Programs ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ne-wiki10-1.JPG Putting up a welcome sign for the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Nepali Wikipedia> <Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Assamese_Wikipedia_-10th_Birth_Anniv... Banner at the tenth anniversary celebration of the Assamese Wikipedia> <Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kannada_Wiki_9th_Anniversary_gatheri... Gathering for the ninth anniversary of the Kannada Wikipedia>
==== Indic Languages ====
* Supported the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Assamese, Kannada and Nepali Wikipedias * Supported Wikisource and Wiktionary initiatives in Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, and Bangla * Supported a series of initiatives by the Malayalam community - announcements of which will be made appropriately by the Malayalam community * Initiated discussions with Gujarati, Tamil & Assamese communities * Supported the improvement of a Wikipedia Help Desk by the Odia community, which can serve as a model for other language Wikipedia Help Desks https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Program/Pilot_Designs/Community_building_using_help_desks.
==== India Outreach ====
* Continued to build on the social media pilot for outreach in English and in Odia, as well as commenced discussions to support the community to explore it in Hindi, Kannada and Nepali * Working on building a model for Student Clubs o Partnered with British Council to set up a Wikipedia Club in Delhi o Two introductory sessions were conducted (with about 70 particpants in total); third more detailed editing session to be conducted in the coming week * Supporting Kannada community to conduct outreach sessions in schools * Continued working with other Indic communities to get outreach supporting material translated * Commenced discussions with the Simple English Wikipedia community to explore the potential for a pilot of the Education Program and the initial response indicates that the time is not right
==== India Communications ====
The following press coverage was supported in some manner or the other by India Program. (Typically, the team would support the community by helping draft a press release and then also help with media contacts wherever possible.)
Assamese 10th Anniversary:
* http://www.northeasttoday.in/our-states/assam/assamese-wikipedia-celebrates-... * http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=765639 * http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/article35... * http://www.sify.com/news/assamese-wikipedia-completes-10-years-of-existence-... * http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/assamese-wikipedia-completes-10-y... * http://issuu.com/assamese/docs/ghy_13062012?mode=window&backgroundColor#... * http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120611/jsp/northeast/story_15594299.jsp * http://sevensisterspost.com/?p=17895 * http://amarasom.glpublications.in/Details.aspx?id=9509&boxid=103211609
Kannada 9th Anniversary:
* http://epaper.udayavani.com/Display.aspx?Pg=H&Edn=MN&DispDate=6/18/2... * http://allevents.in/Bangalore/483961428297721 * http://epaper.samyukthakarnataka.com/42055/Samyuktha-Karnataka/June-12-2012-... * http://kannada.oneindia.in/news/2012/06/12/business-tech-kannada-wikipedia-t...
Nepali 10th Anniversary:
* Article in Nagarik News * Article in Karobar National Economic Daily https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karobar_Economic_Daily * Radio Sagarmatha interviewed Wikipedian Ganesh Paudel. * Radio Nepal Bani interviewed Wikipedians in Kathmandu, Ganesh Paudel and Saroj Dhakal. * Red FM interviewed Wikipedian Jyoti Prakash Nath. * Dy365 (TV News Channel) interviewed Wikipedian Bishnu Saikia.
In addition, these blog posts were put up:
* Report on the Assamese anniversary (http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/29/bonti-projjwollon-lighting-lamps-to-cel...) * Malayalam community conference, the first ever Indic community conference (http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/22/kerala-hosts-wikisangamolsavam-first-in...
The following lessons were documented in blog posts or mailing list posting by India Programs:
* Social media for outreach (http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/20/social-media-for-wikipedia-outreach-ind...) * Media support for local commnities (http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-as/2012-June/000138.html)
==== Community support ====
* Worked on tracker for edits of new wikipedians who joined the facebook groups (English and Odia) and started editing. * Worked on readership for Indic Wikipedias. This report will be published soon on meta. * Rolled a Teahouse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:TH-like support system on Odia Wikipedia as Chattasabha https://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:CS. Worked on a detailed program design for Help desk https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Program/Pilot_Designs/Community_building_using_help_desks for other Indic Wikipedias.
==== Program support ====
* Reached out to 5 Wikipedians (including contractor YuviPanda and former staff Ayush) for support with tools to do analysis of edits by new Wikipedians. User:Hoo man https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Hoo_man has created an analysis tool http://toolserver.org/~hoo/multiUserInfo.php which we have started using for analysing the edits of new Wikipedians who joined Wikipedia from the Facebook groups in English https://www.facebook.com/groups/WikipediaSupport and Odia https://www.facebook.com/groups/OdiaWiki/. * Uploaded all the videos of WikiConference India, Mumbai 2011 [on http://www.youtube.com/user/WikiConferenceIndia/videos Youtube] * Supported team administration and finance.
=== Communications ===
Work in June continues to focus on a new editorial focus for the Wikimedia blog, aiming to increase participation from our contributor community, increase the amount of articles in non-English languages, and developing new story areas based on emerging trends and issues in our community.
The Wikimedia Shop (http://shop.wikimedia.org) was readied for a soft launch on English Wikipedia in June. The ultimate launch kicked off on July 2, based on a geo-location enabled extension https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:WikimediaShopLink that creates a Wikimedia/Wikipedia shop link on the WP navigation sidebar in the US and Canada only. As the platform expands we hope to make the shop more accessible and cost-effective for those outside of the US and Canada.
Communications was also working closely with the Wikimania 2012 team in DC on preparations for media activities in the U.S. capital. As of reporting time, dozens of mainstream media confirmed interest in attending.
==== Major announcements====
No major announcements in June.
==== Major Storylines through March ====
CIPR recommends PR practitioners keep out of Wikipedia's public pages (June 27, 2012)
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations in the UK released a report in June that summarized their research and dialogs (with Wikipedians, and with support from Wikimedia UK) on the topic of COI (conflict of interest) editing of Wikipedia - specifically PR and marketing practicioners editing the site. The report's high-profile advice that PR pros not edit Wikipedia's public pages was widely covered by the English language press.
(CIPR press release) http://newsroom.cipr.co.uk/wikipedia-guidance-for-pr-will-build-mutual-under...
(Debate w/ UK Wikipedian David Gerard [nice suit!]) http://www.cipr.co.uk/ciprtv/108058/the-wikipedia-debate-will-two-communitie...
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/rob-al-brown/dont-edit-wikipedia-says-_b_162...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/pr-firms-urged-not-to-edit-w...
WP's Visual Editor prototype update makes waves (June 21, 2012)
A working prototype of the visual editor was announced in a June 21 blog post, and resulted in a stream of mostly positive tone media stories. Jimmy Wales' tweet on the topic - calling the editor "epically important" - helped spread coverage even further.
(WMF blog post) http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/21/help-us-shape-wikimedias-prototype-visu...
http://www.webpronews.com/jimmy-wales-really-wants-you-to-start-editing-wiki...
http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/21/jimmy-wales-on-new-editing-platform-this-is...
http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/22/3110130/wikimedia-visual-editor-prototype
(ES) http://tecnologia.elpais.com/tecnologia/2012/06/22/actualidad/1340385404_701...
==== Other worthwhile reads ====
Can Wikipedia Teach Us About Conflict Resolution? (Science 2.0, June 25, 2012)
http://www.science20.com/news_articles/can_wikipedia_teach_us_about_conflict...
Why Wiki’s all set to turn Ghalib cool (Asian Age, June 15, 2012)
http://www.asianage.com/life-and-style/why-wiki-s-all-set-turn-ghalib-cool-1...
How big data sees Wikipedia (NY Times, June 14, 2012)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/how-big-data-sees-wikipedia/
The History of the world according to Wikipedia (The Atlantic, June 14, 2012)
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/06/history-world-according-wi...
==== Wikipedia Signpost ====
For lots of detailed coverage and news summaries, see the community-edited newsletter "Wikipedia Signpost" for June 2012:
* Volume 8, Issue 23, 4 June 2012 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-06-04 * Volume 8, Issue 24, 11 June 2012 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-06-11 * Volume 8, Issue 25, 18 June 2012 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-06-18 * Volume 8, Issue 22, 25 June 2012 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-06-25
==== WMF Blog posts ====
Thirty-seven blog posts in total for June 2012. More posts featuring our global contributor community were published, as well as a focus on POTD/Y background. This month also saw an increase in bilingual posts.
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/
Selections from June:
* ‘Bonti Projjwollon’ – Lighting lamps to celebrate 10 years of Assamese Wikipedia! http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/29/bonti-projjwollon-lighting-lamps-to-celebrate-10-years-of-assamese-wikipedia/
* Afripedia collaboration expands offline Wikipedia in Africa http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/28/afripedia-collaboration-expands-offline-wikipedia-in-africa/
* Meet the Wikipedians behind WikiProject Visual Arts http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/09/meet-the-wikipedians-behind-wikiproject-visual-arts/
==== Media Contact ====
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_room/Media_Contact#June_2012
== Human Resources ==
* Initiated annual performance review cycle for the organization, consisting initially of each member of the organization doing a self-assessment, receiving feedback from others that they've worked with, and then from their manager * Human Resource Information System (HRIS) implementation, specifically the modules related to Payroll, Benefits, Core Data & Time/Attendance for non-exempt employees * Initiated online sexual harassment prevention training for all employees with direct reports, as mandated by California law. Deadline for completion is August 31, 2012. * Completed an initial study on what career development could look like at the Foundation, given the relatively flat hierarchial structure and desire to be non-corporate. Initial recommendations are being evaluated for implementation for the next 1-3 years. * Coordinated senior leadership team retreat with C-level staff to assess working relationships, team dynamics, and overall organizational leadership * Completed WMF culture survey to assess elements that support overall mission of WMF and elements that impede ability to execute * Completed executive compensation benchmarking survey for the board, using an external firm with which to make appropriate salary recommendations, and as a foundation for compensation philosophy for the organization. The impact on current salaries will be minimal, as we found that most salaries are within the expected range, given external benchmarks.
New Requisitions Filled
* Munaf Assaf, UX Designer (Engineering) * Evan Rosen, Data Analytics Manager (Global Development) * Adam Wight, Software Engineer - Fundraising (Engineering)
New Other Position Hire
* Martin Parry, Finance Analyst (Finance)
Conversions
* Haitham Shammaa, Contribution Research Manager (Global Development) * Jon Robson, Software Developer, Mobile (Engineering)
New Contractors
* Kate Aleo (Fundraiser) * Luis Campos (Global Development) * Johanna “Petro” Leigh (Fundraiser) * Mimi Li (Fundraiser) * Jacqui Pastor (Fundraiser) * Sara Selim (Human Resources)
Contract Extended
* Everton Alvanrenga (Legal and Community Advocacy) * Micheal Beattie (Fundraiser) * Karen Callier (Fundraiser) * Karen Chelini (Human Resources) * Andrew Garrett (Engineering) * Christopher Johnson (Engineering) * Niklas Laxström (Engineering) * Siebrand Mazeland (Engineering) * Stacey Merrick (Engineering) * Jonathan Morgan (Global Development) * Sarah Selim (Human Resources) * Maxim Semenik (Engineering) * Sara Smollett (Engineering) * Sarah Stierch (Global Development) * Stephanie Thommen (Human Resources) * Heather Walls (Engineering) * Diederik Van Liere (Engineering)
Leaving
* Ian Baker * Mani Pande
Contract Ended
* Christian Aistleitner * Danielle Benoit * Andreas Engels * Fabian Kaelin * Yusuke Matsubara * Gerard Meijssen * Yuvaraj Pandain * Tauhida Parveen * Angela Robeson * Sarah Selim * Audrey Tang
New Postings
* Engineering Outreach Coordinator * Senior Software Engineer - Features * Technical Product Manager
RFP
* Wikimedia Arabic Language Initiative Director (Consultant)
=== Statistics ===
Total In-Plan Staff Positions Filled
Actual: 112 June Plan: 125, June Filled: 3, June Attrition: 2 YTD Filled: 57, YTD Attrition: 19
Remaining Open positions to fiscal year end: 13
=== Department Updates ===
Real-time feed for HR updates: http://identi.ca/wikimediaatwork or http://twitter.com/wikimediaatwork
== Finance and Administration ==
* We have implemented the availabilty of using SEPA/IBAN in participating countries. Anyone receiving funding from the Wikimedia Foundation can request payments using SEPA/IBAN. * The Wikimedia Foundation has committed to leasing the 5th floor of 149 New Montgomery (the building we currently occupy) but do not plan to occupy the floor as it will not be available for occupancy for some time. This delay in occupancy will be at no cost to the Foundation and allows the Foundation to have the 5th floor available for future growth if needed.
== Legal and Community Advocacy ==
* The LCA team has a new team mascot, Rory http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Rory, who is available to answer your animal law questions by email. * The fundraising agreements https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/2012-13_Fundraising_Agreement_(Master) with WMDE, WMFR, WMUK, and WMCH have been negotiated and are in the process of signature. * Request for Comment on whether WMF should join the Internet Defense League https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal_and_Community_Advocacy/Internet_Defense_League_RFC was closed; based on community comments, the WMF does not intend to join. * Continued strong push on cease & desist letters to challenge improper use of Wikimedia trademarks o Opened 20 new cases o Closed 9 cases o 11 letters sent o Total 72 open cases by the end of the month * Wikilegal https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal notes: o Section 2257 Record-keeping Requirements https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/Age_Record_Requirement o Update on NASA images https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/NASA_images * Metrics o Contracts submitted: 17 o Trademark issues submitted: 11 + Approved: 3 + Pending: 6 + Denied: 2
== Visitors and Guests ==
Visitors to the WMF office in June 2012:
1. Christine Moellenberndt (consultant to the LCA team) 2. Elli Horner (consultant to the LCA team) 3. Brendan Corrigan (J.P. Morgan) 4. Charu Gorrepati (J.P. Morgan) 5. Rebecca Konkel (J.P. Morgan) 6. Kat Walsh (WMF Board of Trustees member) 7. Stu West (Treasurer- WMF Board of Trustees) 8. Jan-Bart de Vreede (Vice Chair- WMF Board of Trustees) 9. Kathy Reich (FDC Advisory Group) 10. Osmar Valdebenito (FDC Advisory Group) 11. Pavel Richter (FDC Advisory Group) 12. Peter Ekman (FDC Advisory Group) 13. Richard Ames (FDC Advisory Group) 14. Sydney Poore (FDC Advisory Group) 15. Thomas de Souza Buckup (FDC Advisory Group) 16. Ting Chen (Chair - WMF Board of Trustees) 17. Jiang Lijun (Director/Senior Editor, Encyclopedia of China Publishing House) 18. Tian Ye (Chief Engineer, Encyclopedia of China Publishing House) 19. Haidong Pan (Chairman and CEO, Hudong) 20. Yang Jing Feng (Higher Education Press) 21. Stephanie Smith (WSM Immigrations) 22. Shane Cragun (The Cornerstone Group) 23. Juan Riboldi (Ascent Advisor) 24. Liz Williams (Collaboration Zone) 25. Bill Adams (Full Circle Leadership) 26. David Ansley (Consumer Report) 27. Grant Joung (ThoughtWorks) 28. Thibaut Horel (Visiting Wikipedian) 29. Mark Florant (United Layer) 30. Joe Arnold (Swiftstack) 31. David McDonald, Mark Zachry and Jonathan Morgan (visiting from University of Washington, presented at Dario's Brown Bag) 32. Edward J. Black (The Foundation for Innovation and Internet Freedom) 33. Jim LeMunyon (Computer and Communications Industry Association) 34. Randall Benson (consultant for culture study) 35. Kim Dodson (consultant for culture study) 36. Jim Anderson (Bill Adam’s colleague - Key Connections) 37. Kathi Fletcher (Shuttleworth Foundation) 38. Max Klein (Wikipedian volunteer for Education Program) 39. Matt Senate (Wikipedian volunteer for Education Program) 40. Derrick Coetzee (Wikipedian volunteer for Education Program) 41. Bence Damakos (Wikimedia Hungary) 42. Julie Chang (Apple)
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/The monthly Wikimedia Foundation metrics and activities meeting on July 5, 2012 covered the 2012-13 Annual Plan instead of focusing on the month of June as usual. The video recording will be uploaded to Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimedia_Foundation_Metrics_and_Activities_Meetings around the time of the publication of the Annual Plan./
wikimediaannounce-l@lists.wikimedia.org