Submissions/Free knowledge for complete beginners: introducing Wikipedia to new readers

Submission no. 2084 - C7, C10
Title of the submission

Free knowledge for complete beginners: introducing Wikipedia to new readers

Type of submission (lecture, panel, tutorial/workshop, roundtable discussion, lightning talk, poster, birds of a feather discussion)

Lecture

Author of the submission

Anne Gomez, Jack Rabah, Kacie Harold, Zack McCune

Language of presentation

English

E-mail address

agomez@wikimedia.org

Username

AGomez (WMF), JRabah (WMF), KHarold (WMF), ZMcCune (WMF)

Country of origin
USA, Jordan
Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.)

Wikimedia Foundation New Readers team

Personal homepage or blog

meta:New Readers

Abstract (up to 300 words to describe your proposal)

How can we bring new people into the Wikimedia Movement? Every contributor starts as a reader before they click "edit," write code, or otherwise participate. More readers around the world will also mean more contributors, especially among people, languages, and cultures that are underrepresented in the wikis now.

But the experiences of people coming online today are vastly different than they were 16 years ago. People's first internet connections now are mostly on mobile phones instead of desktops. They're inundated with ads and experiences from brands looking to monetize them, and they often join the internet through social media to stay connected to friends and family. How can we support new readers in learning

In 2016, the Foundation undertook a research project to better understand how people in countries where Wikimedia isn't well known approach learning, knowledge, and the Internet. Since then, we've been working within the organization and with others in the Movement to develop a plan and pilot efforts to increase readership primarily in Nigeria, India, and Mexico. We'll share the research we've done, what we're trying to address, and how you can get involved. We'd love to collaborate with you!

What will attendees take away from this session?
  • High level understanding of research takeaways from deep research in Mexico, India, Nigeria
  • Ways to get involved in bringing new readers into the Movement
  • Knowledge of different ways that the Foundation is testing and experimenting
Theme of presentation
  • WikiCulture & Community
For workshops and discussions, what level is the intended audience?

Beginning +

Length of session (if other than 25 minutes, specify how long)

55 minutes

Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?

Yes

Slides or further information (optional)
Slides from the presentation

Session notes

Special requests
If possible, please place this session earlier in the schedule than Wikipedia Unplugged, How to raise awareness for Wikipedia: lessons from Iraq & Nigeria, & Knowledge for everyone: making access affordable
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. Jamie Tubers (talk) 16:39, 9 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  2. GastelEtzwane (talk) 12:04, 11 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Saguaromelee (talk) 19:41, 11 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  4. --Cornelius Kibelka (WMDE) (talk) 08:16, 17 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  5. VMasrour (WMF) (talk) 17:06, 19 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  6. Christina Rupprecht (WMDE) (talk) 10:28, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  7. Djiboun (talk) 03:36, 11 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Angie Rodebaugh 11 August 2017 attended I attended this meeting yesterday. I mentioned that I believe it would be great if we can create a .net page that would be similar to the "Google" or "Yahoo" search page. It would be a blank page with the exception of the word "Wikipedia" in the middle of the page and underneath this there would be a search box. This would be helpful for people that utilize the Wiki often. Once they enter their search word or words, the search results would appear at the top as normal however Wiki search results would be listed at the top of the list and other search results would appear below these. I believe adding this "search" page would make the Wiki more interesting for students that are accustomed to this type of search experience. Thank you Angie