[Air-L] Fwd: [earthtreasury] Strategic plan for Wikimedia movement

[RBerkman at aol.com]

All,

This is intriguing. I teach open source knowledge, social media etc, and am 
also a big fan of Wikipedia, but often worry about its growing pains. I'm 
wondering if it's worth setting up a kind of informal partnership with 
Wikimedia, given our collective expertise and interest to provide advice, 
recommendations etc.  This could take the form of everything from our setting up a 
task force (meeting online and/or at in person conferences) on our own to 
provide our recommendations; to actually meeting and working with Wikimedia 
staff and agreeing on a discrete advisory type role; getting our students 
involved to study aspects of open knowledge sourcing and Wikipedia and present 
papers at one of our sessions, or a special session devoted just to this 
topic...and so on. Lots of brainstorming opportunities here and the chance to put 
our knowledge, skills, and background to some practical use. Could be good 
for AIR-L too as a group in terms of greater recognition of who we are.

Since the old rule of "you suggest it--go ahead and do it" always applies, 
I'd be happy to be a prime coordinator of such an activity as long as:

1. There is clear expressed interest in this among AIR members (please 
email me directly either here or my academic email at berkmanr at newschool.edu) 
among the group;
2. This kind of activity fits in AIR own mission/scope etc; and is 
"blessed" or given some kind of official "go ahead"
3. We get some kind of "yes we'd like your assistance" from Wikimedia

Further thoughts?
Bob

Robert Berkman
Associate Professor, Media Studies
The New School
Editor, The Information Advisor
www.informationadvisor.com
Rochester NY