“It pays itself back in dividends”: NASA and MediaWiki, a natural pairing
The wiki's importance to the team became clear when the unthinkable happened—the team’s server crashed. It was then that the group realised how fundamental this wiki project, launched by three engineers and grown by countless others, had become in their daily routines.
Engaging librarians (and others) through social technologies: A #1lib1ref think-piece
This campaign was more than an outreach effort: it helped us to explore new technologies that facilitate diverse communities to participate in Wikipedia. To support a clear call to action for librarians, we incorporated three social technologies to grow the campaign: social media, hashtags (both inside and outside of Wikipedia), and microcontributions. Together they helped us share an inviting and compelling story of collaboration between Wikipedia and libraries.
"Dare to be different, yet hold your head high": The impact of Prince’s death on Wikipedia
"Prince is synonymous with indulging in yourself shamelessly and with passion. His music and his cultural impact mean more than words can offer."
"He taught me that being black was more than a color. That despite our circumstances or limitations in life, you could change the world and you could reach out and touch the stars."
"Dare to be different, yet hold your head high."
(Quotes used with permission from the Wikipedia Facebook page)
Announcing a new informational resource on Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA and government surveillance
We have released a new landing page for Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA, and the government has filed their response to our opening appeal brief.
Save the safe harbors that power the open web
The Wikimedia Foundation advocates to the U.S. Copyright Office for the preservation of protections from copyright liability for intermediaries, and against turning intermediaries into copyright police.
News on Wikipedia: How a world of volunteers dove into the leaked Panama Papers
Wikipedia editors jumped into action only nine minutes after the Guardian's report, and the consequent Wikipedia article has been edited once every 2.5 minutes since then.
Introducing the unique devices dataset: a new way to estimate reach on Wikimedia projects
With the unique devices dataset, we’ve been able to quantify the shift to mobile across all projects. In almost all Wikimedia projects, more than half of our unique devices are accessing content using the mobile sites.
Wikimedia Highlights, February 2016
Here are highlights from across the Wikimedia movement, as reported on this blog in February 2016: Recording romanticism and filling Wikimedia Commons with 19th century music; What’s TPP? The problematic partnership; #BlackLifeMatters edit-a-thon bolsters Wikipedia’s coverage of black history.
It "revolutionized the way German-speaking people inform themselves about the world": Fifteen years of the German Wikipedia
It's been so revolutionary that it has even become the de facto replacement for the Brockhaus—the German equivalent of the Encyclopædia Britannica.
New Wikipedia app for iOS puts the joy of exploration in your hand
Our new Wikipedia app for iOS features major design and usability improvements, including the new Explore feed.
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