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Submissions/How could companies help reach Wikimedia strategic goals?

From Wikimania 2013 • Hong Kong

This is an accepted submission for Wikimania 2013.

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Submission no.
2036
Subject no.
B8
Title of the submission
How could companies help reach Wikimedia strategic goals?
Type of submission

Presentation

Author of the submission

Christophe Henner

Country of origin

France

Affiliation

Wikimedia France

E-mail address

christophe.henner@gmail.com

Username

schiste

Personal homepage or blog

http://politicogeek.com

Abstract

When the movement defined it's key objectives until 2015, 5 strategic priorities were defined: stabilize infrastructure, increase participation, improve quality, increase reach, incourage innovation.

Companies editing Wikipedia could help us push forward 4 of these 5 goals and in some case, perhaps even 5 on 5. That is something we shouldn't ignore and should actually work toward.

I'll have 25 min to convince you to join the paid editing side of the movement (we have cookies) and prove you that, far from being our enemies, companies could be useful contributors to our projects.

Detailed proposal

When companies started editing Wikipedia, they saw it as another way for them to communicate. To push forward their point of views, their products etc. That was around 2007. Back then, the community reacted radically and advised against companies editing their Wikipedia articles.

6 years later, the same policy remains on our projects. However in the same lap of time, heads of communication/marketing understood several things:

  1. That they can't keep on thinking they can fully control their communication on the Internet
  2. That they need to have a more open/ethical approach
  3. That they can't meddle with Wikipedia, because when they do, the backlash is huge

However, companies are a really great asset we could use in regards of our strategic priorities.

Companies are playing a huge part in our economic history. Some of them are even a century old and have huge archives of documents that are boxed in closed rooms somewhere.

Companies offer a really good way to explain to a lot of people, quickly, what Wikimedia is, how it works, and how they can get involved.

Companies have the ability to muster experts on niche topics. Including topics on which we're actually not that good today.

Companies have an interest in having their article up to date.

This presentation will also be a follow-up of the presentation I did during Wikimania 2011.

In 25 min, I will try to show you with practical example how companies could be used to push forward our strategic priorities and why we should not ignore them as we do today. And by the end of my presentation, I will have proved that all our strategic priorities could be addressed through companies.


Track
  • Cultural and Educational Outreach
Length of presentation/talk
25 Minutes
Language of presentation/talk

English

Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?

yes

Slides or further information (optional)
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Interested attendees

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  1. I like the concept. Blue Rasberry (talk) 20:13, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  2. MarkTraceur (talk) 18:59, 2 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Ziko (talk) 17:41, 3 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  4. Jeromy-Yu Chan, COIC (talk) 17:51, 5 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  5. Axel Pettersson (WMSE) (talk) 09:40, 6 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  6. 76.124.48.149 15:12, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  7. Ocaasi (talk) 15:27, 7 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Superbellymonster (talk) 02:33, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  9. --SusikMkr (talk) 19:11, 4 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  10. Sebastian Wallroth (talk) 16:42, 7 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  11. --Ecce Ralgis (háblame) 23:52, 9 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]