User:Pfctdayelise/WikimediaShop

WikimediaShop is about selling downloads for existing Wikimedia products as fundraising and to encourage higher average donations during fundraising drives. It is also to highlight and promote the quality and breadth of material available from Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikinews, Wikisource, Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikispecies and the Commons.

Why would people pay or donate money for something they can get for free? (1) As a goodwill gesture during fundraising drives and (2) for convenience. Although we have some truly amazing material available it is not always readily accessible to non-Wikimedians (or even to Wikimedians, often enough).

Note to self: http://www.lulu.com/

Packs

WMShop items (packs) should be in PDF or a ZIP format. The idea is to sell a download key. If the user then wants to print the material, they can worry about that.

Packs should be themed. It is expected that one pack will only contain material in one language. So buyers can select packs in their own language (or language-neutral packs). Packs can be themed by:

Project - 'best of Wiktionary'
Region/country - 'All About Australia' - material from all relevant projects
Just a theme - 'European History', 'Learn German'

The projects know what their strengths are. Let them choose what would work best. Also best to display unusual, didn't-think-of-that type material, that is still interesting (to someone at least). Best if material is not widely available from non-WM sources.

wp: could select say 5 FAs on a vaguely related topic (US history). Also Spoken Wikipedia, how to use it??
ws: heaps of stuff, eg. Hamlet, speeches, operas. need local editors to help
wq: figure out how to put together some usable QOTD product? Quotes by theme, or related people
wb: easy, they already produce PDFs! Some BOTMs are far from complete, though.
wikt: WOTD product? Hard to figure how to make this easily marketable.
wn: also difficult. talk to local editors.
wikispecies: ????

Best bundle combo: Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikisource, Commons (related images/sound files).

Commons Packs (wallpaper/calendar)

Commons packs should include 12 images, a README/introduction/'about the material' file and a copy of all relevant licenses (or at least the GFDL). 12 is the right number so the images could be used for a calendar.

The README should have: brief introduction to WMF/Commons, instructions on legal reuse, for each image a photographer comment and brief photographer bio.

Requirements for images:

No copyright concerns whatsoever
Created by Wikimedians (initially, at least, rather than PD-NASA stuff)
Very high quality and high resolution
Ideally they should all make people gasp in disbelief that such amazing work is available for free
No people (initially, at least, to avoid legal dramas)
Good identification information (location, date, species)
Should be "wallpaper like"

Possible themes:

By country (Australia, UK, NZ, even US state perhaps?)
Sunsets, island life, water bodies, trees, insects, kittens and fuzzy animals, science, abstract art, cars/machinery, farm life, baseball, trains, disasters, libraries, architecture, winter/summer/spring/autumn, B&W, ....
Also by technical requirements: XL screen size (needs XL res), vertical (for a different kind of calendar?), for display on palm pilot or something similar?
Could even have a couple just of one photographer (there are a few photographers that have over 20 FPs on various projects)

Spoken Wikipedia

OGG is not convenient
Can you reasonably offer more than one in a single download?
On CD? How many would fit on one?
What other formats would people want?

Possibly useful links

DIY produce CDs (actually for wannabe bands, but oh well)
mass produce CDs