WHAT Wikis Take Manhattan (http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/wikis_take_manhattan/project-home or http://www.wikis-take.org for short) is a scavenger hunt and free content photography contest aimed at illustrating Wikipedia and StreetsWiki (http://www.livablestreets.com/streetswiki/) articles covering sites and street features in Manhattan and across the five boroughs of New York City. The event is based on last year's Wikipedia Takes Manhattan, and has evolved to include StreetsWiki this year as well.
LAST YEAR'S EVENT See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Takes_Manhattan/Spring_2008
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wikipedia_Takes_Manhattan/Gallery
WINNINGS? Prizes include a dinner for three with Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales at Pure Food & Wine, gift certificates to Bicycle Habitiat and the LimeWire Store, and more!
WHEN The hunt will take place Saturday, September 27th from 1:00pm to 6:30pm, followed by prizes and celebration.
WHO Wikis Take Manhattan is open to anyone who would like to participate. You can compete together in teams of up to three, but please only one camera and memory card per team. It is sponsored by The Open Planning Project (parent of StreetsWiki), Free Culture @ Columbia (the Columbia University chapter of Students for Free Culture) in cooperation with the NYU chapter Free Culture @ NYU, Wikimedia New York City, Creative Commons, and Wikipedia volunteers. Sponsors include Bicycle Habitat, Brooklyn Brewery, B's Bikes, Birdbath Bakery, LimeWire Store, O'Reilly Media, and Pure Food & Wine.
All Wikipedians and non-Wikipedians are invited to participate in team of up to three (no special knowledge is required at all, just a digital camera and a love of the city). Bring a friend (or two)!
REGISTER The proper place to register your team is here:
https://freeculture.wufoo.com/forms/wikis-take-manhattan/
It's also perfectly possible to register on the day of when you get there, but it will be slightly easier for us if you register beforehand.
WHERE Participants can begin the hunt from either of two locations: one at Columbia University (at the sundial on college walk) and one at The Open Planning Project's West Village office. Everyone will end at The Open Planning Project:
349 W. 12th St. #3 Between Greenwich & Washington Streets By the 14th St./8th Ave. ACE/L stop
VOLUNTEERING TO UPLOAD If you want to volunteer to help with the uploading and scoring, you should be back at The Open Planning Project by 5:00, earlier than everyone else at 6:30.
Volunteering to help with uploading will in no way preclude you from competing in the contest, but you will have a slight disadvantage by having to come back earlier. If you are interested in volunteering, please e-mail me personally with your details.
WIKIPEDIAN TEAMS You might want to go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Takes_Manhattan
for an informal sign-up of Wikipedians who are going, and you may want to organize teams among yourselves there. Already, someone on the talk page is recruiting the pedal-power "biker gang" team.
Thanks, Pharos