OpenRoad + Mod7
Two pioneering organizations, together at last.
OpenRoad is pleased to announce the acquisition of creative agency Mod7.
Read the letter from our PrincipalParticipation in Wikipedia is falling... but they have a plan to fix it.
Posted on July 17, 2012 in Design by Mod7
Has the novelty of the world's most famous crowd-sourced encyclopedia finally worn off? At the Wikimania Friday conference in Washington, DC, Wikimedia admits to concerns over the dropping off of new editors and admins for the Wikipedia project.
Is it because these positions are volunteer-driven? Does the community need to be compensated for its time? No, monetary gain is not the only reward people seek: some are quite happy with power, thank you very much.
The main culprit seems to be the insider's network that has formed around the intense nomination and application process —it's just too hard to break in to the boy's club these days. And then there are the complaints about the sometimes seemingly-arbitrary ways in which the editors jealously wield their authority.
But there is a plan to reverse this trend. Or, at least the hope of a plan.
One problem is the vast majority of Wikipedia users don't seem to realize that Wikipedia can be edited. By anyone. Perhaps a few simple interface tweaks can fix this, making this feature more obvious. (And maybe then, seeing how the process actually works, people won't be so quick to trust in the infallibility of the information there.)
Another problem is how archaic and annoying the whole editing process is. New users must become familiar with a broad assortment of syntactical nuances, style standards and editorial concepts to be able to use the wiki. The addition of a WYSIWYG editor could go a long way in opening up the process.
Still... user interface to the rescue? We aren't fully convinced that UI alone will address some of the fundamental systematic issues facing the project. It will be interesting to watch this unfold.
/ Original inspiration: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/3-charts-that-show-how-wikipedia-is-running-out-of-admins/259829/