Salve Mark,
Am Samstag, 28. Februar 2004 21:47 schrieb Delirium:
Robert Michel wrote:
You can`t by PR, a NGO must live PR.
^^^ buy ;)
I guess to me it seems like this shouldn't be a major problem---we don't need to do PR, because the PR comes to us.
Sorry, but I think you are wrong, you mix up PR (populare image) with popularity, or quantity.
If we get to the point where we're competing with Britannica in a multi-volume printed set, that will get us lots of PR (some of it negative---"they're killing off Britannica!"---but all PR is good PR, right?).
Bad news are good news, from the news papers point of view. Bad PR is just bad PR. Do you remember of the image problem of the German chemical big group Bayer (BAY) after the Lipobay "problems"?
My starting points for creating a PR-strategy was not popularity for user, and not finding as many new wikipedianer as possible. They were: - qualitative growing - becomming experts to be active wikipedianer - Howto ask effective for the use of pictures with the condition of the GNU-FDL - to find donator and heirships
Jimbo agreed with my idea for this HowTo Am Montag, 23. Februar 2004 12:36 Jimmy Wales wrote:
Robert Michel wrote:
-We need good a tutorial "HowTo ask effective for the use of pictures with the condition of the GNU-FDL" -well written examples for letters to potential contributors -and a culture to celebrate every successfuly "acquisition".
I agree with you with overwhelming enthusiasm.
Will you start writing such a HowTo?
The basis for having a chance to get right to use pictures with the condition of the GNU-FDL is mainly a good image and the skill to present the wikipedia project and not popularity.
On wednesday we had in Gemany a TV news report on the major public TV station with 2.26 millionens viewers - to read the transcript and to see a screenshot of the moderator in front of the wikipedia logo: http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_TV_coverage_of_Wikipedia *g*
This TV-report could have been the "door opener" for finding new friends for the Wikipedia, like the Goethe-Institut http://www.goethe.de/enindex.htm
Another story of success is that on Monday on big weekly magazin (spiegel) will bring an 2 pages articel about the wikipedia. This magazin has a circulation of 1,108,083 sold exemplars. During a photo-session for this article inside one museum in munic, the wikipedianer Elian got the right to use this pictures from one expedition in Internet-quality for our project: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Samarkand-mosque2.jpg http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Libyen-oase2.jpg (I don`t know if these are all or other will follow)
Both should be small examples that with good PR, with an good image it will be much easier to get pictures rights.
A strategy for getting pictures needs a porposeful PR-strategy.
I don`t want to create a syntetic image - I want to enhance skills of most of the wikipedianer to be convincing when they ask for right to use pictures.
I guess to me it seems like this shouldn't be a major problem---we don't need to do PR, because the PR comes to us.
I don`t want to be unfair, but it was you who has started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Press_coverage only one online article about 500,000 http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Artikel_%C3%BCber_Wikipedia only one TV report, one magazin.
I don`t see self-running PR - That isn`t yet much success for the 500,000 milestone!
And you have overseen my warning:
PS: Beside of en,de,ja,hk we should take care about smaller languages projects to support them in making good PR for their projects.
We need to become more active to support all smaler Wikipedias!
So I hope some people will agree that more action and a PR-strategy would help more than buying a professional press release. We do have a world wide network, we can do what no press resease company can do - but don`t do it anonymous - try to build up personal contacts.
Take action in your region, try to build national/regional PR-teams, give feedback of your steps to Jimbo and try to get personal contacts to your regional/local journalists!
Good luck, rob
PS: I know that the press contacts should be make by confidential wikipedians, try to do it with a team and do only what you are sure would be positive for the wikipedia project.