Target audiences (Bookshelf): Difference between revisions

The Bookshelf Project target audiences are those groups the Wikimedia Foundation has identified as high priority for (1) expanding its active user (editor/writer) base, (2) getting clarity about Wikipedia and its culture, and (3) facilitating the outreach and recruitment efforts.

Characteristics:

• computer literate (comfortable user rather than highly technical)
• educated
• online
• subject-matter expertise
• women
• men and women older than 35

Goal: Attract, entice, encourage to participate

Description: This is the primary target group for the Bookshelf project. This group can be defined as the current primary writing/editing group with the additional characteristics of trending toward female and trending older versus the current primary writers/editors. Additionally, this group is not technical, even though they are very comfortable with using computers and the Internet.

Rationale: The core characteristics of current Wikipedians are relevant, even essential, for being a Wikipedia editor. By adding gender and age diversity, Wikipedia will tap into a huge new resource pool who will bring expanded subject matter interest and expertise, thus expanding content and in turn attracting more new users.

Design Considerations: tone and information should be less technical and more conversational than materials would be for the current core user group. Inviting, informative and demystifying. The KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principal should be a major guideline (cf. Google's Librarian Central – Tools).

Characteristics:

• Teachers (Junior High School, High School)
• University lecturers/professors
• Students

Goals:

• Encourage the use of Wikipedia as a teaching tool (specify opportunities, overcome prejudices)
• Enable teachers to use Wikipedia as a teaching tool
• Enhance the students' media literacy

Description: Like Wikipedia, this audience's mission is education and there is a natural synergy that can be leveraged between the two communities. Also like the Wikipedia community, this audience is characterized by a combination of goal orientation and exploration for the sake of learning. This audience is demographically diverse, is curious, dedicated and directed.

Rationale: The formal education domain provides a rich opportunity to enhance Wikipedia's legitimacy, particularly in terms of accuracy. This audience is also a rich source of new editors, with the students becoming habituated contributors and the teachers/lecturers having access to a new crop of students each year.

Design Considerations: The materials must include sample lesson plans, at least one plan each for secondary and university levels. Consider whether to reference Wiki projects beyond Wikipedia (for example Wikiversity, Wikisource, Wikibooks) in the lesson plans.

Characteristics:

• People who have to deal with Wikipedia in their daily professional lives

Goal: inform, explain, enlighten

Description: This group is the secondary target audience. They are fast moving, need information “yesterday”, require reliability and clarity.

Rationale: This group often disseminates information about Wikipedia so it is essential the information is accurate and that the group has ready access to the information. The Bookshelf materials will reduce the pressure on Wikimedia staff, chapters and volunteers by providing reliable, clear “go to” resources to answer their questions.

Design Considerations: Simple, easy to navigate, straight to the point

Characteristics:

• People who edit/create Wikipedia articles for professional purposes such as supporting a particular organization, company, person or agenda

Goals:

• Enable these people to be successful contributors to Wikipedia
• Enable these people to make corrections and additions to articles in tune with the Wikipedia culture so that entries perceived as valid are not reverted
• Enable these people to create articles that adhere to the Wikipedia guidelines

Rationale: Integrating this group into the Wikipedia community will build goodwill for the Wikimedia mission, as materials about current organizations and living people will be less controversial and will be of higher quality.

Design Considerations: Materials must be sophisticated, helpful, and honest. They should not be condescending. This audience is already actively using the tools, but they need support and education about how to use them appropriately. Consider using a case study in the materials, perhaps a humorous one. The case study should have universal appeal for localization purposes. (For example, Why Friedrich Engels would have difficulties editing the Karl Marx article)

This audience is quite different from the other audiences. The members of this audience are already active Wikipedians so we do not need to convince them to become active. Instead this audience is part of the Bookshelf project because they can facilitate the outreach and recruitment effort.

Characteristics:

• tech-savvy
• educated
• online
• subject-matter expertise

Goals: Encourage and enable Wikipedians to produce screencasts to support the Bookshelf mission

Description: The Wikipedians are our core users, are experts in all things Wiki, and enjoy making things.

Rationale: This group is the most able to make the screencast materials scalable in terms of localization and integrating new interface elements that will need to be incorporated into the screencast materials to keep them current.

Design Considerations: The materials will be designed and written by the core development team and then released to this group to implement as screencasts.