Submissions/Going off the Boil? A summary of the leading theories as to whether Wikipedia has peaked yet.

From Wikimania 2014 • London, United Kingdom

This is an accepted submission for Wikimania 2014.

Submission no. 1038
Going off the Boil? A gentle canter through the leading theories as to whether Wikipedia has peaked yet, but maybe isn't dying either.
Type of submission (discussion, hot seat, panel, presentation, tutorial, workshop)
Presentation
Author of the submission
Jonathan Cardy
E-mail address
WereSpielChequers@Gmail.com
Username
WereSpielChequers
Country of origin
United Kingdom
Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.)
I'm a longstanding Wikimedian and a part time member of staff at Wikimedia UK. But the views in this presentation are my own and this is separate from my job with the chapter.
Personal homepage or blog
EN:User:WereSpielChequers
Abstract (at least 300 words to describe your proposal)
Since 2007 several of the possible health indicators for the Wikimedia community have gone into decline or stabilised. This presentation will give a brief run through of the main symptoms of the post 2007 change and the leading theories that might explain those symptoms.

Including:

  • Raw edit count has fallen, which is either a huge problem or a great victory for our improved vandalfighting software.
  • The ratio between Readership and Editorship has changed - with new technologies delivering our content to ever more people, but in a less interactive way (Have you successfully edited Wikipedia on a smartphone?).
  • We've lost some of our most effective ways to recruit new editors.
  • We are inconsistent, especially in how we treat those who add unsourced content.

I apologise if this presentation is overly skewed towards the English language Wikipedia, it is my home wiki and still accounts for much of my editing time. I would particularly welcome feedback from other projects and languages as to whether my observations here are also relevant to their project.


Track
  • WikiCulture & Community


Length of session (if other than 30 minutes, specify how long)
30 Minutes
Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?
Yes
Slides or further information (optional)
This presentation will be based on an essay I wrote here
Special requests


Interested attendees

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  1. Panyd (talk) 14:47, 22 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Johnbod (talk) 01:45, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  3. NavinoEvans (talk) 01:47, 25 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  4. Blue Rasberry (talk) 15:54, 28 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  5. BD2412 (talk) 21:04, 28 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  6. Leutha (talk)
  7. Keilana (talk) 15:00, 18 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Frank Schulenburg (talk) 19:14, 19 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  9. MichaelMaggs (talk) 10:33, 21 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  10. Slashme (talk) 08:59, 22 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  11. Anthonyhcole (talk) 07:26, 24 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  12. Thehelpfulone 02:14, 27 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  13. EpochFail (talk) 14:49, 28 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  14. Ironholds (talk) 14:20, 31 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  15. Jodi.a.schneider (talk) 19:52, 31 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  16. Quiddity (talk) 19:46, 12 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  17. the wub "?!" 22:51, 13 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  18. Pgallert (talk) 20:27, 24 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  19. MB-one (talk) 11:04, 13 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
  20. Edwardx (talk) 12:35, 7 August 2014 (UTC) Looks like I will be your session host[reply]
  21. Your name here!