Wikipedia is more than just an encyclopedia; it is a community, mission, and opportunity. It relies on luck regarding early contributors who set the style of working, and those who decide to support the project. Sister projects like Wiktionary can attract dedicated contributors, feed back into Wikipedia, and help with recruitment. Outreach aims to build the brand, network, and community rather than enrollment alone. Key metrics include contributor count, article quality rather than quantity, and important articles. Bots can help with content but must be carefully tested and avoid automation of human roles. The community should be recognized, new administrators appointed, and fights undertaken for values like transparency. Marketing utilizes social media and networks, and the wiki itself is a

1. 1. Wikipedia is
NOT JUST
an Encylopedia

2. Wikipedia is...
● A community
● A mission
● An opportunity
● The Free encyclopedia is one of it's
products

3. 2. LUCK Matters

4. Luck Matters...
● When your project gets started (early
2000s)
● Who are the early core contributors (they
set the style of working for years)
● Who decides to join hands with you and
how (media / academia / government)

5. 3. Grow
Sister Projects

6. Sister Projects...
● Tamil Wiktionary had 1,00,000+ words in
2007. Top 10 Wiktionary in the world.
● Attracts dedicated contributors.
● Feeds contributors back into Wikipedia
● Reference and support source
● Easy contributor recruitment
● Don't split your existing community to grow
new sister projects

7. 4. Outreach is
brand / network /
community building

8. Outreach is...
● Not contributor enrollment drive
● Physical outreach has little ROI for time,
money, effort, contributor resources. Use it
for brand / network / community building.
● Digital outreach is scalable, reproducible,
contributor independent.
● Look for high and measurable conversion

9. 5. Chase the
RIGHT numbers

10. Right numbers...
● No time bound targets for article count
● Monitor contributor count.
● Database size, word count, minimum size
of an article, % of articles bigger than 2k,
10k etc.,
● 1,000 / 10,000 important articles each
Wikipedia should have

11. 6. ROBOTS Beware!

12. Bots...
● Use for database based article creation
after pilot testing and community validation.
● No machine translation
● No user talk messages. Be human.
● Resist the temptation to automate
everything. New users can get a hange of
Wiki with small and mundane tasks.

13. 7. Recognize
COMMUNITY

14. Recognize community..
● Say THANKS for first edit, first article,
continuous contribution
● Give WikiLove medals.
● Feature them in front page / site notice /
media news stories
● Dare to make new admins in regular
intervals. We have 39.
● Hand over responsibilities.

15. 8. FIGHT

16. Fight...
● Dare
● Based on issues. Case by case. Not based
on person.
● For your neighbourhood communities
● To safeguard autonomy from any agency
including WMF (indic tech impositions :) ).
● For the right values / ideals (say
transparency)

17. 9. Think like a
MARKETER

18. Marketing...
● Be creative
● Leverage social media
● Have a network of “wiki friends” (bloggers /
media)
● Wiki itself is a mass medium. Recent
changes and site notice is your billboard.
● You get what you ask. Are you asking to
read or write?

19. 10. Think Long Term

20. Long term...
● Useful after 50 years?
● Useful for a student in a remote village?
● Impact on language
● Nurture the community and the next
generation of volunteers.
● This is a relay race that will be run for
decades.

21. Out of Syllabus :)

22. More lessons...
● Take risks – Google translation project.
● Kill hierarchy. Admins are not “Super
users”.
● Foster comraderie. Call by name.
● Find the answer for what is in it for me.
Emphasize soft skills / network /
personality building.
● Make friends with FOSS, other wiki
communities, media, academia.

23. Questions?

24. Thanks !