CIS-A2K/Pilot Designs/Wikipedia Clubs

Objectives of Wikipedia Club

Idea is to run outreach events in universities, institutes, or interest groups that engage people in fun activities around Wikipedia and free knowledge. The basic objective of the club would be to:

Organise regular activities to increase the level of editing activity by club members. This could be in form of edit-a-thons, photo-thons, starting wiki projects based on common interest etc.
Organise regular outreach sessions to recruit more club members and expand club size.
Organise regular fun activities to keep high level of enthusiasm and spirit amongst club members. This could be in form of trivia nights, games night, meet ups, field trips, museum trips etc.

Questions we would like to answer

The pilot will mainly answer the following questions:

Support system: Will setting up formal clubs help new editors get a support system in place where they can collaboratively learn about Wikipedia and fundamentals of editing.
Effect on Wikipedia: Will setting up formal clubs help new editors contribute good quality content and become long term editors on Wikipedia.
Community impact and reaction: What is the community response towards setting up of such Clubs.

Measures of success

Wikipedia Clubs Program becomes an effective way to recruit new editors.	Measure of success #1:	We set up at least 2 active Wikipedia Clubs before Dec 2012.
	Measure of success #2:	Each club must have minimum of 10 participants to start with
	Measure of success #3:	Each club organizes regular outreach sessions to further recruit more members and expand the Club size.
We increase the amount and quality of content on Wikipedia.	Measure of success #4:	Each club organises regular activities around Wikipedia like edit-a-thon, photo-thon etc.
	Measure of success #5:	At least 10% of the participants edit on regular basis.
We communicate effectively with the broader community, capture learning and lay the foundation for the setting up more clubs in 2013.	Measure of success #6:	Monthly updates on the program are shared with the wider Wikipedia community

Core Design Element

Recruiting members and kick starting

Recruiting club members - We'll conduct an outreach session at an institute and inform the participants about Wikipedia Club and the kind of activities club organises. If the participants share a strong interest in Wikipedia movement and Wikipedia editing; they can get together with several of their friends or fellow colleagues and may consider forming a Wikipedia Club.

Training club members - Once the group decides to set up the club, local community and WMF will help them kick off the first few sessions of Wikipedia editing training. All members who plan to become members of the club will have to attend this mandatory training sessions. Major topics covered will include: overview of the Wikipedia, fundamental Wikipedia-editing skills, expectations and responsibilities for Wikipedia Clubs, tips on working with other Wikipedia Clubs set up in other regions, and Wikipedia communication protocols. The orientation will be interactive and hands-on.

Regular activities organised by the club

Club can conduct regular constructive and fun activities around Wikipedia and free knowledge, such as:

Edit-a-thons - Select an article of common interest to all the Club Members. Choose a preferred date and time (at least 2 - 3 hours) when all Club Members edit the same article. You may decide to organise an edit-a-thon in a common room (where computers and internet facility would be required for editing) or Club Members can edit the same article at the same time but sitting remotely in the comfort of their respective living rooms. For more information on how to run an edit-a-thon click here.

Photo-thons - Have fun walking around the city together to click pictures of famous landmarks, buildings, amusement parks etc; or visit a science, art, or history museum to click pictures of various artifacts; or visit cultural exhibitions or fests to click pictures of local food items, various dance forms etc. Add all these pictures on Wikimedia Commons and use these pictures in various Wikipedia articles. For more information on how to run a photo-thon click here.

Wikipedia trivia and games night - Who thought you could play fun games on Wikipedia?

Organise informal and fun trivia nights where teams battle to see who has the greatest knowledge about Wikipedia. General Wikipedia knowledge and trivial interest questions are asked by a trivia host and the winners are the team which, at the end of the night, have correctly answered the most number of questions. Trivia night's organizers might provide some kind of refreshments (a grant application can be submitted to get financial help) or club members can bring munchies of their own too.

Club members can also choose to play some interesting Wikipedia games. For example, ask participants to open the article on Manmohan Sigh. Then ask them to reach the article on Belly Dancing by way of clicking on internal links from one article to another. One who reaches Belly Dancing in minimum number of hits will be announced as the winner and can be awarded by giving away a t-shirt/badge/sticker.

Wikipedia Club meet ups - Organize regular meet ups just to hang out together to have some fun and get to know each other better. It's great if the group wears their Wikipedia t-shirts/badgets/sweatshirts and carry other swags to the meetings.

Interact and work closely with other Wikipedia Clubs across the nation and across different countries. Work collaboratively with Wikipedia Clubs in Mumbai and Delhi or London and New York. Great way of global collaboration.

Outreach sessions to recruit new editors and club members.

Club merchandise, logo and swags

Wikipedia Club members should be encouraged to make their own logo and put a grant proposal for printing swags. Customized merchandise will help them build their own brand and identity and increase their sense of club ownership.