Paid Wikipedia editing & disclosure series, 2015
Drawing by Nicholas Boudreau, licensed CC BY
Follow us:
Author Archives: Pete Forsyth
Wikipedia turns 20. Let’s celebrate!
Join us for the One World Birthday celebration, Friday January 15. Wikipedia launched in 2001, the same year America Online bought Time Warner. An Associated Press story covered the nascent encyclopedia project wistfully, as a project with high ideals but … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
Wikipedia’s lessons about collaboration
Collaboration is a key component of human activity, in fields as diverse as scientific inquiry, news reporting, the arts, and government. When we work together effectively, we can accomplish big things. We should always seek to improve our understanding of … Continue reading
Posted in core, governance, history, leadership, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
Leave a comment
Merry Christmas! Simple things anyone can do for improved digital hygiene
The holiday season is a great time to talk to loved ones about how we can all improve the ways we use technology and the Internet. There are many areas of concern around protecting your interests and information online. It … Continue reading
WikiCite conference: Wind in the “Newspapers on Wikipedia” sails
The WikiCite 2018 conference in Berkeley, California was an exciting meeting of the minds. There were a number of good developments for the Newspapers on Wikipedia (NOW) campaign. Here, I’ll recap those that stood out to me, as well as … Continue reading
Posted in edit-a-thon, events, journalism, wiki, Wikidata, Wikipedia, Wikipedia and education
Leave a comment
Katherine Maher on Wikimedia’s evolving strategic priorities: Reflections on her WikiCite 2018 talk
I relished the opportunity to hear Katherine Maher, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, speak about strategic priorities at the November 2018 WikiCite conference. The organization has had its ups and downs in strategic planning over the years. This was … Continue reading
Proposal for funding from the AI Ethics Challenge
I submitted the following project proposal for the Artificial Intelligence Ethics Challenge: Unpacking Wikipedia’s Lessons for Journalism In its 18 years, Wikipedia has established itself as a titan of the Internet, built on a model utterly different from other top … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
A proven innovation could benefit Facebook’s users—and its shareholders, too.
Concern about social media and the quality of news is running high, with many commentators focusing on bias and factual accuracy (often summarized as “fake news”). If efforts to regulate sites like Facebook are successful, they could affect the bottom … Continue reading
Posted in core, governance, history, journalism, leadership, User experience, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
Leave a comment
“Open” everything, and minimal financial needs: Wikipedia’s strengths
What insulates Wikipedia from the criticisms other massive platforms endure? We explored some answers—core values, lack of personalization algorithms, and lack of data collection—in last week’s “How Wikipedia Dodged Public Outcry Plaguing Social Media Platforms.” But wait, there’s more: Wikipedia … Continue reading
How Wikipedia dodged public outcry plaguing social media platforms
Everybody has an opinion about how to govern social media platforms. It’s mostly because they’ve shown they’re not too good at governing themselves. We see headlines about which famous trolls are banned from what sites. Tech company executives are getting … Continue reading
Posted in core, governance, journalism, Statements of Ethics, Uncategorized, wiki, Wikipedia
Leave a comment
A peek behind the scenes in the $289M Monsanto verdict
Both sides in a similar Monsanto lawsuit tried to bend Wikipedia to their will On August 10, a jury hit Monsanto with a $289 million verdict, the latest in a string of lawsuits linking the agrochemical giant’s products and byproducts to … Continue reading
Posted in Beginner how-to, conflict of interest, core, governance, government, How-to, paid editing, wiki, Wikipedia
Leave a comment
User:Peteforsyth
Pete Forsyth