Submissions/Building projects single-handedly: a primer


Info

This is an Open submission for Wikimania 2017 that has not yet been reviewed by a member of the Programme Committee.

Submission no. 2074 Subject - C5
Title of the submission
Building projects single-handedly: a primer
Type of submission (lecture, panel, tutorial/workshop, roundtable discussion, lightning talk, poster, birds of a feather discussion)
Lecture
Author of the submission
Josh Lim
Language of presentation
English
E-mail address
josh@joshlim.me
Username
Sky Harbor
Country of origin
Philippines
Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.)
Personal homepage or blog
https://joshlim.me
Abstract (up to 300 words to describe your proposal)
What happens when you're left to your own devices when building a new project? Do you wait for people to come? Or do you try your best to do it by yourself, holding against hope that people will join you?
In my 12 years as a Wikimedian, I have resorted to building a number of projects single-handedly. Some are minor successes, like the Tagalog Wiktionary, while others, like the Tagalog Wikinews, are stalled or dead in the water. Of the Wikipedias I know of, only the Ilokano Wikipedia is successful thanks to its extremely dedicated lone editor. But given that single-editor projects are by and large the exception rather than the norm, how should we go about doing it? And if we do end up doing it, what risks are in it for us?
In this presentation, we'll take a look at some projects built by single editors, what makes these projects unique, and what we need to do to build a community of editors so that single editors don't get burned out. We'll also look at what might be the ideal profile of a single editor: one that continues to contribute to a project even after so long by themselves with no one else around them to help.
What will attendees take away from this session?
Attendees can expect to know more about how to deal with single-editor projects, and with the phenomenon in general. More specifically, attendees will learn how to build on these projects and how single-editor projects can be beneficial for the Wikimedia movement, while at the same time how the concerns of single-editor projects can be addressed by the community at large.
Theme of presentation
WikiCulture & Community, Sister Projects
For workshops and discussions, what level is the intended audience?
Beginning
Length of session (if other than 25 minutes, specify how long)
25 minutes
Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?
It depends. I am applying for a scholarship, although I might go even if my submission is not accepted depending on funding.
Slides or further information (optional)
None yet, but I will put them up once I've made a deck.
Special requests
Is this Submission a Draft or Final?
Info

This is a Completed submission for Wikimania 2017 ready to be reviewed by a member of the Programme Committee.

Interested attendees

If you are interested in attending this session, please sign with your username below. This will help reviewers to decide which sessions are of high interest. Sign with a hash and four tildes. (# ~~~~).

  1. Amir É. Aharoni (talk) 10:33, 11 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]