User:EdwardNWM/On VassarWiki's Future: Difference between revisions

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I want to begin this open letter by thanking all of you who have contributed to VassarWiki so far! I know it's not a small request to ask you to dedicate your time amidst the busiest time of the year. At the end of the day, the project doesn't exist without you.

I feel a responsibility to make my thoughts about ~~the~~ future ~~of this project~~ transparent, hence writing this open letter. I believe this next time period is really critical for the success of this project. So I would really appreciate your help!

Since I spearheaded this project and I'm graduating, I feel a responsibility to make my thoughts about its future transparent, hence writing this open letter. I believe this next time period is really critical for the success of this project. So I would really appreciate your help!

I think ~~'''~~our ~~main~~ goal at this point should be to achieve greater ~~adoption'''~~, which means getting both more contributors and more readers. Using the language of the [[wikipedia:Technology_adoption_life_cycle|technology adoption lifecycle]], we are very much in the first stage of "innovators". Our challenge is to cross the "chasm" to get early adopters. <section end="feature" />This can only come by:

I think our ultimate goal at this point should be to achieve greater participation, which means getting both more contributors and more readers. Using the language of the [[wikipedia:Technology_adoption_life_cycle|technology adoption lifecycle]], we are very much in the first stage of "innovators". Our challenge is to cross the "chasm" to get early adopters. <section end="feature" />This can only come by:

== 1. Making VassarWiki truly valuable ==

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== 2. Properly articulating VassarWiki's utility ==

Of course, this requires VassarWiki to ~~actually~~ have utility, hence the first section. But we ~~still~~ need to ~~promote~~ it~~, and I think we have some low hanging fruit~~. ~~Reach out to groups you're associated with or are proximate to, place posters or QR codes around campus (once folks are back on campus), and share the resources and projects you put here!~~

Of course, this requires VassarWiki to have utility, hence the first section. But if we need to make people aware of that utility for them to want to use it.

After much trial and error (talking to people about ~~VassarWiki)~~, I've developed an elevator pitch. Feel free to take it and adapt it: <blockquote>VassarWiki is ~~a project~~ to ~~crowdsource~~ the ~~collection~~ and ~~organization of~~ information ~~about Vassar College~~. ~~This~~ will make ~~the college's~~ information ~~ecosystem~~ more efficient~~, democratic~~, and ~~cross~~-~~generational~~. ~~Everyone has something~~ unique to ~~contribute~~, and ~~a unique reason~~ to ~~do it—to~~ advertise ~~your group~~, ~~consciousness-raise, or~~ memorialize your time here. </blockquote>Since I'm now a graduate, I can't ~~easily~~ promote the wiki on campus~~, but~~ I am ~~more~~ able to facilitate alumni contributions. I envision the wiki to be a way for institutional knowledge to be shared across ~~student turnover~~, so bringing in alumni is a massive part of the project's success. At the same time, while I think the wiki should be open to the community at large, it should still center the people most enmeshed in the community (namely, students). So I'm going to set alumni contributions as something to work towards once we get significant on-campus buy-in.

I think there are some low hanging fruit that we can take. If you put resources and projects here, share them! Notify groups you're connected to so they can ensure the information on their page is correct. Once people are back on campus, distribute posters and QR codes around campus. With a campus of roughly 3000 people, we can spread the word fast.

After much trial and error talking to people about this project, I've developed a rough elevator pitch. Feel free to take it and adapt it if you wish: <blockquote>The goal of VassarWiki is to harness the wisdom of the crowd for collecting and organizing community information. A website where any community member can easily contribute information (a wiki) will make our information infrastructure more democratic, efficient, and persistent beyond the four-year student turnover cycle. We all have unique knowledge to share, and it shouldn't stay trapped in our heads or disappear after we graduate/retire. There are many reasons to help, like to advertise what you're doing on campus, memorialize your time here, or raise social/historical consciousness. </blockquote>Since I'm now a graduate, I can't promote the wiki on campus. But I am able to promote it online and in a better position to facilitate alumni contributions. Because I envision the wiki to be a way for institutional knowledge to be shared across generations, bringing in alumni is a massive part of the project's success. At the same time, while I think the wiki should be open to the community at large, it should still center the people most enmeshed in the community (namely, students). So I'm going to set alumni contributions as something to work towards once we get significant on-campus buy-in.

== 3. Lowering barriers to entry ==

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Even though I'm an alum now, I'm still dedicated to this project. And despite being in this weird middle-ground spot, I'm actually really hopeful about it. I hope you are too.

Also, I'd like to ensure that VassarWiki has true [[VassarWiki:Governance|shared governance]]. If you've been involved thus far, consider being an [[VassarWiki:Administrators|administrator]]. If you or your group is interested in sharing the ownership of the servers, let me know. I really don't want to be a dictator guys.

Also, I'd like to ensure that VassarWiki has true [[VassarWiki:Governance|shared governance]]. If you've been involved thus far, consider being an [[VassarWiki:Administrators|administrator]]. And if you or your group is interested in sharing the ownership of the servers, let me know. I really don't want to be a dictator guys.

If you have any concerns or suggestions, [[User talk:EdwardNWM/A Note on VassarWiki's Future|provide them]]. ~~Enjoy~~ your summers!

If you have any concerns or suggestions, [[User talk:EdwardNWM/A Note on VassarWiki's Future|provide them]]. Anyway, enjoy your summers!

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 I want to begin this open letter by thanking all of you who have contributed to VassarWiki so far! I know it's not a small request to ask you to dedicate your time amidst the busiest time of the year. At the end of the day, the project doesn't exist without you.
-I feel a responsibility to make my thoughts about the future of this project transparent, hence writing this open letter. I believe this next time period is really critical for the success of this project. So I would really appreciate your help!
+Since I spearheaded this project and I'm graduating, I feel a responsibility to make my thoughts about its future transparent, hence writing this open letter. I believe this next time period is really critical for the success of this project. So I would really appreciate your help!
-I think '''our main goal at this point should be to achieve greater adoption''', which means getting both more contributors and more readers. Using the language of the [[wikipedia:Technology_adoption_life_cycle|technology adoption lifecycle]], we are very much in the first stage of "innovators". Our challenge is to cross the "chasm" to get early adopters. <section end="feature" />This can only come by:
+I think our ultimate goal at this point should be to achieve greater participation, which means getting both more contributors and more readers. Using the language of the [[wikipedia:Technology_adoption_life_cycle|technology adoption lifecycle]], we are very much in the first stage of "innovators". Our challenge is to cross the "chasm" to get early adopters. <section end="feature" />This can only come by:
 == 1. Making VassarWiki truly valuable ==
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 == 2. Properly articulating VassarWiki's utility ==
-Of course, this requires VassarWiki to actually have utility, hence the first section. But we still need to promote it, and I think we have some low hanging fruit. Reach out to groups you're associated with or are proximate to, place posters or QR codes around campus (once folks are back on campus), and share the resources and projects you put here!
+Of course, this requires VassarWiki to have utility, hence the first section. But if we need to make people aware of that utility for them to want to use it.
-After much trial and error (talking to people about VassarWiki), I've developed an elevator pitch. Feel free to take it and adapt it: <blockquote>VassarWiki is a project to crowdsource the collection and organization of information about Vassar College. This will make the college's information ecosystem more efficient, democratic, and cross-generational. Everyone has something unique to contribute, and a unique reason to do it—to advertise your group, consciousness-raise, or memorialize your time here. </blockquote>Since I'm now a graduate, I can't easily promote the wiki on campus, but I am more able to facilitate alumni contributions. I envision the wiki to be a way for institutional knowledge to be shared across student turnover, so bringing in alumni is a massive part of the project's success. At the same time, while I think the wiki should be open to the community at large, it should still center the people most enmeshed in the community (namely, students). So I'm going to set alumni contributions as something to work towards once we get significant on-campus buy-in.
+I think there are some low hanging fruit that we can take. If you put resources and projects here, share them! Notify groups you're connected to so they can ensure the information on their page is correct. Once people are back on campus, distribute posters and QR codes around campus. With a campus of roughly 3000 people, we can spread the word fast.
+After much trial and error talking to people about this project, I've developed a rough elevator pitch. Feel free to take it and adapt it if you wish: <blockquote>The goal of VassarWiki is to harness the wisdom of the crowd for collecting and organizing community information. A website where any community member can easily contribute information (a wiki) will make our information infrastructure more democratic, efficient, and persistent beyond the four-year student turnover cycle. We all have unique knowledge to share, and it shouldn't stay trapped in our heads or disappear after we graduate/retire. There are many reasons to help, like to advertise what you're doing on campus, memorialize your time here, or raise social/historical consciousness.  </blockquote>Since I'm now a graduate, I can't promote the wiki on campus. But I am able to promote it online and in a better position to facilitate alumni contributions. Because I envision the wiki to be a way for institutional knowledge to be shared across generations, bringing in alumni is a massive part of the project's success. At the same time, while I think the wiki should be open to the community at large, it should still center the people most enmeshed in the community (namely, students). So I'm going to set alumni contributions as something to work towards once we get significant on-campus buy-in.
 == 3. Lowering barriers to entry ==
@@ Line 32: / Line 34: @@
 Even though I'm an alum now, I'm still dedicated to this project. And despite being in this weird middle-ground spot, I'm actually really hopeful about it. I hope you are too.
-Also, I'd like to ensure that VassarWiki has true [[VassarWiki:Governance|shared governance]]. If you've been involved thus far, consider being an [[VassarWiki:Administrators|administrator]]. If you or your group is interested in sharing the ownership of the servers, let me know. I really don't want to be a dictator guys.
+Also, I'd like to ensure that VassarWiki has true [[VassarWiki:Governance|shared governance]]. If you've been involved thus far, consider being an [[VassarWiki:Administrators|administrator]]. And if you or your group is interested in sharing the ownership of the servers, let me know. I really don't want to be a dictator guys.
-If you have any concerns or suggestions, [[User talk:EdwardNWM/A Note on VassarWiki's Future|provide them]]. Enjoy your summers!
+If you have any concerns or suggestions, [[User talk:EdwardNWM/A Note on VassarWiki's Future|provide them]]. Anyway, enjoy your summers!