Learning patterns/Promoting content and volunteer involvement

A learning pattern foronline engagement

Learning Pattern Library

Valorise content and volunteer implication

problemHow to thank Wikimedians? How to share good content?

solutionThere are many forms of communication.

creator• Noé

created on14:33, 22 November 2022 (UTC)

status:DRAFT

This fact sheet addresses the topic of promoting content produced in collaborative projects, as well as promoting volunteer work. It is the result of discussions during the WikiCamp francophone 2021.

The valuation

What does it mean to value?

Valorisation: to highlight something or someone.

• Highlight projects as a whole

• Highlight the knowledge gathered

• Highlight the people who participated

• Highlight one-off actions

Related terms but that’s not it: communication, advertising, propaganda, evangelization, promotion, influence

Why value?

• Make available content known

• Publicize how the content was produced

• Thank the volunteers, recognize their work and motivate them to continue

• Discover new content or stimulating ways to contribute

• Highlight the skills developed through the contribution:
  • Wiktionarian skills list
  • Research:Skills matrix
  • Movement roles/Roles Matrix

When and where to valorize?

• Permanent or one-off

• Within projects or outside projects

• Online or off screen

• Individually or collectively

Tracks for valorization

Within the projects

• Improved reading interface, depending on the projects

• Featured on the home page

• Featured on the community portal or in the Bistro

• Thanks with the Thank button

• Thanks posted on the talk page: barnstars, laurels

• Recension au sein de la wikipresse (RAW, Wikimag, Actualités du Wiktionnaire, Signpost, etc.)

On the Internet

• Association sites, including the Wikimedia France blog and the Wikimedia Canada letter

• Publications on social media (Mastodon, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)

• Occasional distribution to our allies (in France: Framasoft, Numérama, Quadrature, etc.)

• Distribution of press releases or articles

• Podcasts to projects or to/with volunteers (e.g. in Swedish)

• Cultural videos exploiting the content (e.g.: series in French with Marina Rollman, Wikipedia race by video animators on YouTube)

• Music videos
  • Wikipedia Song
  • Superdotada by Wikimedia Mexico
  • Wikisource Bengali

Off screens

• Press articles: general, popular, specialized

• Illustrations reused in the press

Poster

• Leaflets, scrolls, pins, stickers, t-shirts, mugs, socks, etc.

• (Web)radio chronicles: community radios, GULL, regional networks (for example France Bleu)

• Photo exhibitions (e.g.: at the National Archives for Wiki Loves Monuments 2019, competition Photographing the Overseas Territories, "Photograph the Overseas Territories" exhibition at the Ministry of Overseas Territories

• Printing of works or selected pieces (e.g.: Le Dico with real pieces from the French-speaking Wiktionary inside)

• Information panels in the city (for example in Sevran)

• Panels in libraries presenting Wikisource and providing access to its content (via site or a bibliobox)

• Awards ceremony, medal type

• Game highlighting projects (for example Wikeys or The Wikidatacon Card Game)

• Financial compensation

Limitations

For the contents

• Be careful to favor diversity, both in terms of subjects and projects highlighted (not just Wikipedia and Commons).

• It seems preferable to link up with cultural initiatives to benefit from communication relays, otherwise the actions risk being little relayed by the media.

For the people featured

• Not all forms of recognition are suitable for everyone; some people may be uncomfortable with their contributions being displayed in an inappropriate way.

• Be careful not to create stars, many people are deserving and it is easy to upset people who have contributed in the shadows and yet in a crucial way for years.

• People may wish to be highlighted for personal interests that may not be aligned with the community's values. Valuing is not legitimizing or advertising, but rather a way of thanking for the altruistic involvement that is the basis of the contribution.

For people who do valuation

• Beware of burnout. Promoting the work of others is a form of contribution that is not highly valued by others, and can sometimes be thankless, routine, or with peaks of activity that leave you exhausted (wikispleen).

• Some people believe that quality speaks for itself, that it is useless to highlight the content and that promotion can sometimes be rejected. However, not all promotion is advertising, and "publicizing" is an important way to make projects part of everyday life.

• Other past initiatives may have gone through the same stages, and there may be activity reports or practical sheets that could be useful to consult before embarking on a large-scale individual or collective action.

• Be careful of costs. It is possible to do this with your own funds, but don't hesitate to seek support from the Wikimedia Foundation or an association to avoid taking on too many expenses, particularly travel and printing costs.