Heya,<br><br>so I went about doing some homework on the Commons and it&#39;s usage from both sides in India.<br><br>Here is what I cam across.<br><br>This isn&#39;t related at all to my previous mail<br><br>For uploads, Commons is hardly used in India.<br>
<br>Major reasons are:<br><br>1&gt; The ND/NC Conflict, or the I want my Picture on Wikipedia, but don&#39;t want it to be edited.<br><br>Most people want their content on Wikipedia, [not Commons, but Wikipedia], but don&#39;t want it to be edited. I&#39;ve come across numerous of these cases on Flickr and Picasa.<br>
<br>2&gt; Isn&#39;t Wikimedia a part of Wikipedia? How did you get your images out there?<br><br>People are curious. They think that Wikimedia is part of Wikipedia and that only select stuff lands up there.<br><br>Again, as Bala stated in Coimbatore, this myth needs to be explained. Wiki is for the people, of the people, by the people.<br>
<br>3&gt; No comments.<br><br>A LOT of people want to contribute, but don&#39;t, simply because one can&#39;t comment on pictures on the Commons. I suggest that they upload to Flickr, release it under a Commons Compatible licence, and let FlickrBot take over.<br>
<br>4&gt; Photographs? What?<br><br>Most people are unaware that the Commons can also host Audio and Video. Awareness is needed.<br><br>5&gt; My file isn&#39;t getting uploaded [Audio and Video]<br><br>Most people end up using Propriety formats such as *.mp3, *.aac *.avi and *.mpg. They don&#39;t know or don&#39;t want to convert it to *.ogg and *.ogv. Again, awareness is the only solution.<br>
<br>Around six months ago, F-Secure had stated that Facebook accounts for 4% of all uploaded images. My estimation is that atleast 10% of these images ALSO exists on the Commons.<br><br>I&#39;ve been trying to spread awareness about the Commons. Literally preaching about it in my lab, cyber cafes, and the likes.<br>
<br>Alternatively, I&#39;ve been trying to get people interested in the matter on Twitter [My test bed]. Those following me [and NOT too] would know about this.<br><br>Others can look up <a href="http://t.co/lEwZkuWW">http://t.co/lEwZkuWW</a><br>
<br>The only things currently catalysing contributions to the Commons are:<br><br>1&gt; TamilWiki Media Contest.<br><br>2&gt; Wikipedia Takes Cities.<br><br>3&gt; Various Photowalks.<br><br>4&gt; The upcoming Wiki Loves Monuments [It will]<br>
<br>Do let me know what your thoughts on this matter are.<br><br>--<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Srikanth Ramakrishnan.<br><br>P.S: Sundar, Manish, this is the &#39;research&#39; I mentioned on Twitter.