- Title of the submission
Wiki Photo Trips
- Themes (Proposal Themes - Community, Tech, Outreach, GLAM, Education)
Community, Outreach, Technology
- Type of submission (Presentation Types - Panel, Workshop, Presentation, etc)
Curated Talk
- Author of the submission
John Phelan
- E-mail address
faolin42@ymail.com
- Username
faolin42
- US state or country of origin
MA
- Affiliation, if any (organization, company etc.)
none
- Personal homepage or blog
http://community.weightwatchers.com/Blogs/UserBlog.aspx?blogid=1008075
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Faolin42
- Abstract (at least 300 words to describe your proposal)
- Why take pictures to illustrate Wikipedia articles?
Taking pictures for Wikipedia can be a scavenger hunt. You get to see unexpected places. There’s a
thrill to being the first person to photograph a place (at least where
Wikipedia’s concerned). Wikipedia becomes a record of the places you’ve
explored.
The pictures you take show up high on Google search results. Unlike
articles, when your pictures are used outside of Wikipedia they are
unambiguously attributed to you. Your pictures can be used in blogs,
news articles, etc... It’s interesting to see where your pictures end
up.
In many cases, there are many articles on the same location in
other languages. This means you can contribute to Wikipedia’s in over
100 different languages.
For the rule benders/creative types, taking pictures lets you violate a
few Wikipedia principles. It’s independent research, since you have to
find and visit each place. It’s not neutral point of view (NPOV), since you’re probably trying to take an attractive picture of
what may be an unattractive place. The pictures are rarely subject to
editing, and replaced only infrequently. I think this last point should
change. Improved photos should be posted much more often. Your photo may be the only one that documents a structure that later gets destroyed.
You get good exercise. I find pictures are best taken on foot or
bicycle. If Driving a car, you have to worry about directions and
parking too often. Also someone on foot or a bike is less threatening to
police and locals. They’re actually friendly when you’re not in a car.
And you can spread the word on Wikipedia when people are curious about
what you’re doing. I’ve actually been invited in for house tours when the owner
saw me taking pictures of their home.
- What other groups might be interested in taking photos for Wikipedia?
Other groups might be enticed to take pictures for Wikipedia.
Individuals that enjoy Geocaching, Waymarking and Trigpointing, which are
very similar pursuits may enjoy taking pictures to post.
- A tool for planning wiki photo expeditions.
I wrote an App called "Unvisited" for Android and iOS to plan Wikipedia
photo trips. I was tired of having to plan ahead and print maps. The app
let’s you change plans on the spot and helps you organize your tour. I'll
do a demo.
There are many unexpected places that need a lot of pictures…
Kansas City MO - 4 walks - 18.5 miles - 79 places (4.2 places/mile)
Little Rock AR - 4 walks - 17.5 miles - 80 places (4.5 places/mile)
Kingman AZ - 2 walks - 6.7 miles - 40 places (5.9 places/mile)
Columbus GA - 3 walks - 7.9 miles - 60 places (7.6 places/mile)
And there are a couple of short walks nearby where you can photograph 38 places total.
Manhattan 10011 - 20 places - 1.3 miles
Manhattan 10021 - 18 places - 2.9 miles
- Drinks
Finally, if anyone would like to go out for drinks later, there are many cocktails that
need pictures to accompany their description on Wikipedia, including...
Champagne cocktail,
Brass Monkey,
Stinger,
Lemon Lime and Bitters,
Alexander,
Baby Guinness,
Tequila Slammer,
Death in the Afternoon,
Snakebite,
Coquito,
Four Horsemen,
Matador,
Alabama Slammer,
Buck's Fizz,
Pink Gin,
Agent Orange,
Amber Moon,
Incredible Hulk and
Staten Island Ferry. See current list at Faolin42/Cocktails. Drink responsibly!
- Length of presentation/talk (see Presentation Types for lengths of different presentation types)
15 minutes
- Will you attend WikiConference USA if your submission is not accepted?
Yes
- Slides or further information (optional)
- Special request as to time of presentations
If you are interested in attending this session, please sign with your username below. This will help reviewers to decide which sessions are of high interest. Sign with four tildes. (~~~~).
- Dgorsline (talk) 19:59, 19 April 2014 (EDT)
- Ktr101 (talk) 22:39, 19 April 2014 (EDT)
- Geraldshields11 (talk) 08:52, 27 May 2014 (EDT)