What impact do you think you can have on the world?

  • Why do you care about Wikimedia?

For me, that has changed over time. At first I just found it a moderately useful reference and often I would turn to it with the thought "I wonder if they have an article on...?" I rarely think that any more. Now, when I'm using Wikipedia as a reference, I assume there will be an article and just wonder if I'm going to find the specific fact I have in mind either confirmed or denied (and what the quality of the citation addressing it is).

Often I'm not using Wikipedia as a reference, though, I'm actively working on it. A big part of the reason I do this is that - due to health reasons - I am limited in what I can do in terms of how much time I can spend outdoors and things that involve working with people face-to-face. As such, Wikimedia projects give me a way of volunteering in a community in a way that fits in with my limitations. My early days of working on WP were simply bits here and there that I knew something about and thought I could add something (citations were not deemed essential back then, so I could just edit based on personal knowledge). For the most part I no longer add paragraphs of content to WP any more; I patrol changes to my watchlist, get involved in discussions and now I have "gone meta" by being involved here and am due to contribute to the Bookshelf Project over on the Outreach wiki.

I seem to have gone off on a tangent...

I care for several reasons:

1. Education is important.

2. Even if it wasn't important, I'm a heavy reader anyway and WP is often a good (and free!) read.

3. I'm impressed that something that should never have worked is now a top 5 website. I guess I have great affection for Wikipedia because it should really have been an underdog. I like helping it along.

4. I agree with its mission statement and, in general, I like the direction of movement.

5. I like instant feedback; it's gratifying to be able to press submit and see my words right there.

6. There is a social aspect. This could be much improved. But it is there and I enjoy that.

7. There's an overall sense of being part of something good and doing valuable work.

  • What brought you to these projects, and what keeps you here.

There's a bit of push and pull. As I say, I am limited in what I can do in my life so to that extent I am pushed towards something internet-based. But I am pulled in by the core mission. I guess I keep coming back because things seem to always be improving or there is at least something novel going on that sustains my interest. I have gone through long periods of my life where I couldn't honestly say I was contributing much to anything; I like being able to tell people I'm involved with this and talking about it. I don't think everyone is convinced this is a worthwhile way to spend my time but I'm convinced and I can cope with other people's disregard because I'm confident I'm right and that they just don't know much about the projects.

  • What impact do you think we're having on the world, and what impact would you like to have?

I wouldn't want to try and quantify what impact we're having on the world. Other people have done some research along those lines and would be able to provide some data. For me, being a top ten website is one metric that I dote on and I would feel gutted if we fall out of that chart.

It would be great if the projects eventually gained massive penetration in third world countries and had a tangible effect on deprivation, productivity and incomes. But I recognise that the projects can't do that alone; it will require an expanded base of technology and access.

I'm not sure whether you're asking - in the final clause of your questions - what impact I, personally, would like to have (on the world!) or whether you mean what impact would I like to see the projects have. I guess I've answered the latter. In terms of my own influence, I tend to just take it one edit at a time, although I have suggested - in some detail - social innovations which would have quite some impact on Wikipedia if implemented. But mostly I just keep looking at my watchlist and recent changes and chipping in; either I have an idea in relation to something someone's said, or I need clarification to know what someone's getting at and try to find out more before chiming in. I see my impact as being mostly a janitor on en:wp. With regards to Strategy, I'm not sure what I am...

Bodnotbod17:44, 4 February 2010