Wikimania 2024 was my third Wikimania, my first time in Poland and my first time taking a long distance train in Europe!
How did my attendance pushed me forward and have I been able to share something with others afterwards?
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I might sound like a broken record, but once again the highlight of Wikimania for me it's been able to have face to face meeting with all the people that take part of this amazing movement. Some for the first time, some from last Wikimania. These meetings not only allow us to catch up, but to learn new things and share ideas. We also had some debates regarding the future of our movement, mostly about hubs, but also about some other internal things.
I think this Wikimania was way better organized than last year, although as always there is room for improvement. I think the common complain was the lack of proper breaks in the schedule, but overall the program was quite good and strong. I co organized with my tandem partner Matti the Commons Categorisers Meetup which was quite successful. Besides that I attended multiple talks and workshops such as (but not limited to) What tools you can use to fill Structure Data on Commons files which helped me improve my workflow regarding structured data, the Key Partner session: Art of technology. Challenges in presenting and popularizing engineering and industrial achievements which was not only very interesting but also gave me some new perspectives on how to carry out a program that is connected to science, technology and industrial feats. Wikipedia and public television - a match made in heaven? was also very interesting, it gave me some ideas of what could be done with my local public broadcaster in the near future. But by far my favorite talk was the one showcasing the tool View It!
Statement to a single session
BearbeitenAs I mentioned previously, by far the most interesting talk I attended at this year's Wikimania was the presentation of the "View it!" Tool: Utilizing Structured Data on Commons for Image Discovery by Kevin Payravi and JamieF. I will now quote one of the attendees at the talk: "This is f—- awesome," and that was precisely my reaction when I learned about this tool. It’s not just well-thought-out and elegantly designed, but it also addresses a critical need in the Wikipedia editing process: it alerts you when new images related to a specific subject or theme become available on Commons. The best part? You can add these images to Wikipedia articles with just a single click, making the entire process smoother and more efficient.
Kevin and Jamie did a phenomenal job showcasing the tool during their presentation. They didn’t just talk about it; they brought it to life by doing a live demonstration, allowing everyone in the room to see the tool in action. They even invited the audience to try it out on the spot, encouraging hands-on participation. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my laptop with me at the time, but the first thing I did after the talk ended was to rush to get it and install View it! on my device. Once installed, I ran a few tests, and I was thoroughly impressed with its performance and user-friendly interface.
Since returning to Argentina, I haven’t yet had the opportunity to do much editing on Wikipedia, but I’ve kept the tool enabled and ready for action. I’m convinced that I will be making extensive use of it in the near future. The convenience it offers is unparalleled, and I’m eager to incorporate it into my regular editing workflow. This tool has the potential to significantly impact how editors work, and I’m excited to see how it evolves and gets adopted by the wider community.