Alice’s Adventures in Wikiland: a folk tale about falling down a Wiki rabbit hole
Speakers
Programme Manager at Wikimedia UK (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland & volunteering across the UK).
Co-lead at the Volunteer Supporters Network Hub Pilot.
Former Wikimedian in Residence (Museums Galleries Scotland, Scottish Library & Information Council.)
Abstract
Once upon a time (because all good stories start with a “Once Upon A Time”), a Wikimedian in Scotland fell down a Wiki rabbit hole in her home city of Glasgow. Delivered in the style of folk tale, and with more than a passing reference to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, this lightning talk explores the joy of discovering your local area - its monuments, streets, history, heritage and culture - through the information available on-Wiki. What happens when we fall down the rabbit hole? What characters might we meet along the way, and where might they lead us? And what can we add to this story?
As someone who has trained probably thousands of new users in my Wiki-career, and engaged with many local history and heritage groups, I’ve often suggested that they start with articles about their local area. Does it represent the place with which they’re familiar? Are there gaps? What do they see when they hold the looking-glass up to something they know so well - and what can writing Wikipedia help them to discover about it?
This storytelling session will be a lighthearted look at the journeys we take through Wikiland.
Additional information
This session probably relates most closely to Fiabilité: when we first start editing Wikipedia, we most likely are drawn towards articles about things we know, and with which we’re familiar. The Wiki Loves campaigns help us to document what’s in front of our eyes. When we explore what's local, and familiar, to us on-Wiki, we may have knowledge about it which isn’t suitable for Wikipedia, or which we’ve never thought about finding a source for. And we may get to know it better through investigation, in order to represent it on-Wiki. It is also, I think, related to Liberté, the freedom to explore, to fall down the rabbit hole, to have information available to us, which leads us to places we might never have otherwise discovered.
This session is suitable for most audiences, from those who’ve only just begun their journey, to those who’ve been here since the start. I plan to deliver this as a folk tale, a fairy story, that can be enjoyed as a piece of entertainment as well as a reflection on the pleasure we get from reading, editing, and discovering.
Everyone can participate in this session