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Fri Sep 2 16:33:14 UTC 2011
input into the development and usage of an opt-in personal image hiding
feature, which will allow readers to voluntarily screen particular types
of images strictly for their own accounts. Such a feature was requested
by the Board of Trustees in June 2011.
Data Competition
There are only three more weeks left in the Kaggle Data competition [1],
which challenges data-mining experts to predict the number of edits a
Wikipedia editor will make, based on a training dataset. It has already
attracted 79 teams, 167 participants and 743 submissions. An exit survey
has been prepared and will be sent out once the competition finishes.
[1] http://www.kaggle.com/c/wikichallenge
=3D=3D=3D Fundraiser =3D=3D=3D
Fundraising
In August, the fundraising team attended Wikimania and interviewed
nearly 50 Wikimedia contributors. We gathered this material so that we
can expand the range of voices and faces that appear (and perform well)
in our fundraiser. We are still in the process of interviewing editors,
donors, users, and staff. Please send a message to
wikistory(at)wikimedia.org if you'd like to share your story and explain
to readers in your own words why donating to Wikimedia is important.
Weekly testing of creative messages also continued in August. Please see
our test updates on meta for more information:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_2011
We have some hopeful signs that this year we'll have appeals from
editors, donors and others that will perform as well as the traditional
"Jimmy Appeal".
The fundraising team has started with bi-monthly fundraising drills --
full days of testing going through the motions of the real Fundraiser.
This provides insight on the daily tasks/problems we may have in the FR
and helps establish a more productive/sustainable production process.
The Production Coordinator (PC) Team worked on the localization of
Landing Pages and automating codes and processes, improving and updating
our Fundraising 2011 page [1] and creating new and more technically
robust banners and LPs.
In August, our team welcomed Peter Gehres and Alex Zariv as Production
Coordinators throughout the Fundraiser 2011.
[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_2011
Major Gifts and Foundations
We submitted two new requests for general support to foundations in the
month of August. Also, Jonathan Curiel joined our team as the
Development Communications Manager.
=3D=3D=3D Public Policy Initiative =3D=3D=3D
In August, the PPI team was actively involved in three key areas: 1)
Documenting the overall Public Policy Initiative and preparing the first
draft of the Stanton Foundation report, 2) Planning and facilitating 10
Regional Campus Ambassador trainings throughout the United States, 3)
Reporting the research findings of key aspects of the Public Policy
Initiative.
=3D=3D=3D Fellowship program =3D=3D=3D
Summer of Research
August was the final month of this project - see "Highlights" section.
WikiHistories Project
The history fellows, who study the virtual community history of
different Wikipedia editing communities, wrote several blog posts this
month [1], [2], [3], [4], receiving mention in the English Wikipedia
Signpost. They will submit their final reports next month, and their
findings will appear on Meta.
[1]
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2011/08/24/the-taj-to-the-tuk-tuk-language-in-the=
-indian-wikiworld/
[2] http://blog.wikimedia.org/2011/08/22/new-media-order-in-turkey/
[3]
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2011/08/10/dispatch-from-a-far-flung-corner-of-in=
dia/
[4] http://blog.wikimedia.org/2011/08/03/tagalog-wikipedias-quiet-editor/
=3D=3D Global Development =3D=3D
=3D=3D=3D Department Highlights =3D=3D=3D
* Attendance at Wikimania 2011 (see also general "Highlights" section)
* Final Report of Editor Survey Complete
* Asaf Bartov's Visit to Kenya
=3D=3D=3D Grants Awarded and Executed =3D=3D=3D
Grants awarded:
* http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Sarah_Stierch/MCN_Conference
* http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_PH/Software_Freedom_Day_Philip=
pines_2011
* http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_IN/Bootstrap_Grant
* http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_IN/WikiConference_India_2011
=3D=3D=3D Chapter Relations =3D=3D=3D
* Signed chapter agreements with Macau, Chile and Canada. Finalizing
agreement with India and South Africa chapters.
* Finalizing finances for 2010-2011 Fundraising: payments of the
second installments received from Germany, UK and France. Full
report out soon.
* Discussing chapter transitional grant agreement [1]
<http://internal.wikimedia.org/wiki/Transitional_Chapter_Grant_Agreemen=
t>
with Wikimedia Australia, Wikimedia Austria, Wikimedia Hungary,
Wikimedia Sweden, Wikimedia Italy, Wikimedia Switzerland and
Wikimedia Netherlands.
=3D=3D=3D Global South =3D=3D=3D
* Full-day discussion on Global South growth held at Wikimania
preconference. Notes here, including much advice applicable to all
chapters and future chapters:
http://wikimania2011.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_South_Meeting/Notes
* Asaf Bartov visited Kenya Aug 15th-18th and delivered five public
talks on university campuses in Nairobi and Mombasa as well as a
tech outreach talk at the Nairobi iHub. He also led a workshop for
Kenyan Wikimedians, and visited two potential local partners for
Wikimedia in Kenya.
* Many new contacts with volunteers from communities not currently
having chapters were established at Wikimania, including
representatives from Thailand, Armenia, Viet Nam, Japan, and Belarus.
=3D=3D=3D Brazil Catalyst [2]
<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Brazil_Catalyst_Project> =3D=3D=3D
The main steps to move forward in the short term are to,
1. improve our collective understanding of the structure and work
dynamics of the Brazilian contributor community and engage in
dialogue with the community (we have one quantitative researcher who
is starting to work on this),
2. focus on outreach projects (specifically the launch of the Global
Education Program in Brazil) providing new energy for the community,
and,
3. support community-led initiatives and efforts to form Wikimedia
Brazil (Brazilian Chapter) through grants and other support.
We will also continue to work on establishing a WMF presence in Brazil,
though that will be a secondary priority for the next 3-6 months.
=3D=3D=3D Mobile Strategy and Business Development =3D=3D=3D
* Exploring USSD protocol with various partners to bring access to
Wikipedia, without cost to end-users, to low end mobile phones in
developing countries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unstructured_Supplementary_Service_Data
* Currently working with the tech team on testing our mobile gateway,
which will be lauched in limited release in a week.
=3D=3D=3D Editor Survey =3D=3D=3D
The final report of the editor survey has been completed. We'll continue
to blog about the editor survey.
=3D=3D=3D Readers Survey =3D=3D=3D
We have received the datafile and toplines from our vendor, and are
analyzing the data.
=3D=3D=3D Mobile Research =3D=3D=3D
* We are working on the research report and have set up a wiki in meta
to share the data from India and Brazil:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Mobile_Strategy_Research.
* The translation process for the mobile survey is almost complete:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Wikipedia_Mobile_Readers_Survey=
_2011
=3D=3D=3D Offline =3D=3D=3D
* For the next year, we will focus on tightening up the ability to
make offline collections as well as creating simple and clear guides
for downloading/distributing content.
* A new version of Kiwix - an offline reader - launched! We are
collecting feedback about the experience now.
=3D=3D=3D Global Education Program =3D=3D=3D
=3D=3D=3D=3D Student organizations =3D=3D=3D=3D
* Page creation process has been unified and streamlined, and pilot
pages are being rolled out to a test group of existing student
organizations to prepare for the start of the new school year.
* Merchandise request process is now developing: students will receive
annual welcome packs and will be able to request merchandise through
a minigrants program (this will also encourage students to make
their events public on Outreach wiki).
=3D=3D=3D India Programs =3D=3D=3D
* Two new consultants selected - Nitika Tandon (Participation) and
Shiju Alex (Indic Initiatives). Nitika has joined and Shiju joins at
the end of September.
* Continued support of proposed WikiConference in Mumbai in November
($40k grant from WMF; Fellowship for organizer; Advisory services).
* Wikipedia India Education Program
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:India_Education_Program> pilot =
in
Pune looking good in terms of numbers (>1000 students) but requires
intensive effort to provide adequate training, enabling and
hand-holding of newbie students. Having said this, check out the
following:
o User: Abhilasha369 started a new article: Robinson Crusoe Economy
o User: basic.atari is working on the Human capital article
o User: SaurabhKB is editing Self-organizing list =E2=80=8E
o User: Aishani Sharma on Social preferences
o User: Jinchurikidan has been actively editing the article on
Animation studio
o 12 new Campus Ambassadors selected for the Pune pilot; training
expected by September 12
* Continued progress on legal registration of the proposed independent
public trust in India.
* Initial meetings with major mobile carriers / manufacturers
scheduled for next week.
=3D=3D=3D Communications =3D=3D=3D
* Communications conducted support for media outreach, and assistance
to the Wikimania planning committee through August 2011
* Ongoing design planning for new initiatives within the Foundation,
including the student clubs branding and identity and global
education initiative
* Work continues on the transfer of monthly reporting and broadcasting
functions to the Movement Communications area of our team. New
projects are being developed for community-facing outreach -
specifically developing new channels for mission-critical information.
* Work has also kicked off on the 2010/11 WMF Annual Report, set to
release in November 2011.
=3D=3D=3D=3D Major announcements =3D=3D=3D=3D
Wikimedia Foundation Announces 2011-2012 Board of Trustees and Elected
Officers
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/August_2011_Wikimedia_Fo=
undation_Announces_2011-2012_Board_of_Trustees_and_Elected_Officers
=3D=3D=3D=3D Global Communications =3D=3D=3D=3D
* Conducted first-ever Communications committee (ComCom) meeting at
Wikimania. Lasted three hours and discussion focused on re-building
a more collaborative culture among participants, as well as sharing
best practices and working together on synchronized projects. 20
people attended and Tinu Cherian led a discussion about media
outreach in India and what we can learn from his experiences there
as a volunteer media spokesperson.
* Worked with Wikimedia Netherlands to plan media efforts around
pan-European Wiki Loves Monuments contest.
* Preliminary talks with Wikimedia Hungary to help build out a
communications plan to celebrate 100,000 article milestone for
Hungarian Wikipedia. Working to create best practices and model for
future milestone celebrations.
=3D=3D=3D=3D Storylines through August =3D=3D=3D=3D
Wikimania takes Haifa!
http://www.jpost.com/Sci-Tech/Article.aspx?id=3D232179
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/wikipedia-leaders-outline-their-vision=
-as-conference-opens-in-haifa-1.376967
=3D=3D=3D=3D Global media coverage =3D=3D=3D=3D
College of Engineering Pune students to co-author Wikipedia-India
http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_college-of-engineering-pune-students=
-to-co-author-wikipedia-india_1578420
Sahitya Parishad to add more Gujarati pages on Wikipedia
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sahitya-parishad-to-add-more-gujarati-=
pages-on-wikipedia_1578522
Editing Wiki is now part of CoEP's syllabi
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-18/pune/29900136_1_wiki=
media-foundation-wikipedia-coep
Oral citations to be part of wikipedia entries
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-08-25/news/29926942_1_onl=
ine-encyclopedia-wikimedia-foundation-achal-prabhala
Azerbaijanis more active than Armenians on Wikipedia
http://news.az/articles/armenia/42696
=D7=9C=D7=9B=D7=AA=D7=95=D7=91 =D7=A2=D7=A8=D7=9A =D7=91=D7=95=D7=95=D7=99=
=D7=A7=D7=99=D7=A4=D7=93=D7=99=D7=94 =D7=91=D7=9E=D7=A7=D7=95=D7=9D =D7=A1=
=D7=9E=D7=99=D7=A0=D7=A8
http://www.haaretz.co.il/captain/spages/1238708.html
Wikipedia editors voting on plan to "shutter" violent and sexual images
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/08/wikipedia-editors-vote-on-shutter-f=
eature-for-violent-and-sexual-images.ars
*Wikipedia founder: Israel-Palestine is heavily debated, but we're
vigilant on neutrality*
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/wikipedia-founder-israel-palestine-is-=
heavily-debated-but-we-re-vigilant-on-neutrality-1.377207
*=D7=9E=D7=A0=D7=9B"=D7=9C=D7=99=D7=AA =D7=95=D7=99=D7=A7=D7=99=D7=A4=D7=93=
=D7=99=D7=94: =D7=99=D7=A9 =D7=9C=D7=A0=D7=95 =D7=A2=D7=A7=D7=A8=D7=95=D7=
=A0=D7=95=D7=AA =D7=A0=D7=A2=D7=9C=D7=99=D7=9D =D7=99=D7=95=D7=AA=D7=A8 =D7=
=9C=D7=92=D7=91=D7=99 =D7=9E=D7=A7=D7=95=D7=A8=D7=95=D7=AA =D7=9E=D7=90=D7=
=A9=D7=A8 =D7=90=D7=AA=D7=A8=D7=99 =D7=9E=D7=93=D7=99=D7=94
=D7=A7=D7=95=D7=A0=D7=91=D7=A0=D7=A6=D7=99=D7=95=D7=A0=D7=9C=D7=99=D7=99=D7=
=9D*
http://www.themarker.com/advertising/digital/1.677527
=3D=3D=3D=3D Other worthwhile reads =3D=3D=3D=3D
* http://sonetlab.fbk.eu/blog/?p=3D6832
* http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/08/11/Study-Wikipedia-shows-large-=
gender-gap/UPI-97661313099568/
* http://www.montrealgazette.com/Group+boost+local+photos+Wikipedia/52956=
26/story.html
=3D=3D=3D=3D Wikipedia Signpost =3D=3D=3D=3D
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2011=
-08-01
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2011=
-08-08
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2011=
-08-15
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2011=
-08-22
=3D=3D=3D=3D WMF Blog posts =3D=3D=3D=3D
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2011/08/
=3D=3D=3D=3D Media Contact =3D=3D=3D=3D
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_room/Media_Contact#August_2011
=3D=3D Human Resources =3D=3D
HR continued to gain ground in August, as the external
recruiters/screeners started to show impact on the hiring front. We are
ahead of plan in terms of prepping for roles at this point, most of the
slow down is around candidate quality. This is a different problem from
last year where process was most of the hang up, so although it is an
issue it is an easier one to address than our challenges from 2009-2010.
If you take attrition out of our current data, we are really close to
our goal for the month, only 2 behind plan, a significant improvement.
The deployment of our HRIS continued in August, we expect to have a
working beta for our data in mid September with a proposed launch date
in October. We'd like to speed that up some so we may invest more time
in testing than we'd originally planned to get it up and running sooner.
We also started working with a company we connected with via Mitch Kapor
called Intern Match. We are in the beta of their site, and their goal is
to reach out to students actively for underserved organizations like
ours where internships may not be an obvious pathway. The community
portion of their site launches soon, so we are excited about that.
=3D=3D=3D Staff Changes =3D=3D=3D
New Perm Position Hires
* Garfield Byrd, Chief of Finance and Administration (Administration)
* Jeremy Postlethwaite, Software Developer Back-end (Technology)
* Jonathan Curiel, Development Communications Manager (Community)
Converted/Extended
* Aaron Schulz, Software Developer Back-end (Technology)
New Other Position Hires
* Niklas Laxstr=C3=B6m, contractor (fills the permanent role of) SW
Developer =E2=80=93 Internationalization (Technology)
* Roan Kattouw, contractor (fills the permanent role of) SW Developer,
Back-end (Technology)
* Siebrand Mazeland, contractor (fills the permanent role of) Product
Manager =E2=80=93 Localization (Technology)
* Alex Zariv (contract extended) & Peter Gehres (re-engaged);
contractors, (fill the permanent role of) Production Coordinator
(Community)
New Contractors
* Micheal Beattie (re-engaged)
* Ayush Khanna
* Tracey Fleming
* Gerard Meijssen (July)
* Sara Yap
New Legal Interns
* Christopher Johnson
* Laureli Mallek
* Jason Ross
Contract Extended
* Chris Leonello
* Stephanie Thommen
* Skye Kraft
Contract Ended
* Andrew Shields
* Doreen Strubhar
* Community Summer Research Fellows
o Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia
o Richard Stuart Geiger
o Aaron Halfaker
o Melanie Kill (July)
o Yusuke Matsubara
o Shawn Walker
New Postings
* RFPs
o Development and Operations Engineer
o Global Education Program
o Portuguese Wikipedia Qualitative Researcher
o Consultant, Communications - India Programs
o Consultant, Team Support - India Programs
=3D=3D=3D Statistics =3D=3D=3D
Total Employee Count:
Plan: 92
Filled: 8
August Attrition: 0
YTD Attrition: 5
Actual: 85
Remaining open positions to fiscal year end: 32
=3D=3D=3D Department Updates =3D=3D=3D
Real-time feed for HR updates: http://identi.ca/wikimediaatwork or
http://twitter.com/wikimediaatwork
=3D=3D Finance and Administration =3D=3D
* Beginning search for Head of Office Information Technology.
* Used tenant improvement funds to do upgrades to the third floor
break room.
=3D=3D Legal =3D=3D
* Four legal interns are starting for the Fall semester, supporting us
on a wide variety of legal issues (working both part-time and
full-time for law school credit or educational experience). We are
extremely happy to have their support.
* MarkMonitor - We've engaged a domain name monitoring and management
company that will allow us to gain control proactively of domain
names that contain our project names as well as domain names that
are easily confused with our project names. This will help reduce
instances of deceptive websites that harm our users such as survey
scams, phishing sites, mirror sites, etc.
* Hiaring Smith - We have engaged this new trademark firm (with a good
international network) to help us trim our portfolio of unnecessary
fat while developing proactive strategy in regions we are
aggressively moving into. The firm itself was just named one of the
top 20 firms in CA by the World Trademark Review.
* Finalized internal legal policies:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal/Legal_Policies
=3D=3D Visitors and Guests =3D=3D
1. Aaron Shaw (Berkman Center for Internet and Society)
2. Thierry Coudray (board member, Wikimedia France)
3. Achal Prabhala (WMF Advisory Board Member)
4. Sarah Stierch (community member, GLAM Wikipedian-in-Residence)
5. Hai Ton (ThoughtWorks)
6. Kaitlin Thaney (Digital Science)
7. Denny Vrandecic (Semantic MediaWiki)
8. Sizhe Liu (KPMG)
9. Glenn Turner (Advanced Mobile Notary)
10. Renata Stasaityte (WMF Audit Committee)
11. Pernilla Rydmark (.SE Swedish Foundation)
12. Kristina Alexanderson (.SE Swedish Foundation)
13. Sam Mankiewicz (CTO, Kiva)
--=20
Tilman Bayer
Movement Communications
Wikimedia Foundation
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