Sunday, July 5, 2020¶
What the world needs¶
Answers taken from Wikimedia’s Brand Strategy Presentation.
To access the internet (and in new ways). Not everyone has access to the internet. More people will access via mobile. Screenless access is on the rise (e.g. voice searches).
To debate different points of view.
Most of the world is not free enough to debate. People are more divided than ever. People want to escape from echo chambers <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_chamber_%28media%29>.
“Of 195 countries assessed, 87 (45%) are Free, 59 (30%) are Partly Free, and 49 (25%) are Not Free (Source: Freedom House)”
“Among Democrats, almost 34 percent say all of their closest friends are Democrats, while only seven percent of Democrats that say that none of their closest friends are Democrats” (New York Times)
“35% of social media users say posts from friends or family present just one set of viewpoints. Of this group, 69% say they would like to see more diverse viewpoints in their social networks” (Source: Brookings Institute)
To connect with each other online and in real life
Increasing numbers of people connect online. Social media is isolating people. Loneliness is a modern epidemic.
“People who visit social media platforms most frequently (58 visits per week or more) suffer more than 3 times more often of perceived social isolation (PSI) than those who visit fewer than 9 times per week” (adapted for readability from American Journal of Preventive Medicine)
To teach ourselves everything we need to know
Education costs are rising. People are living and working longer. Automation is threatening jobs. Adults are self-teaching to adapt.
To instigate the change we want to see in the world
People want to see fundamental change. People look to each other to make it happen.
To adapt to do all this with each other and with machines
People are bringing intelligent machines into their homes. People are going to interact with AI everyday. A booming AI market needs ways to teach machines.
Wikimedia versus Facebook¶
I also started a page Facebook versus Wikimedia (which BTW confirms for me that the name “Wikimedia” is very accurate and usable and that merging it into Wikipedia would be a shame. We just need to care more about saying Wikimedia instead of Wikipedia when appropriate.)