Practical Insights on Wikipedia

Apply Now: $25,000 for Your Technology Nonprofit Startup

Apply Now: $25,000 for Your Technology Nonprofit Startup

Published on: Sep 19 2022 by Wayan Vota - 3 Comments
Technology nonprofits look like typical tech startups—they build tech products—and have selected a nonprofit structure because they are building for impact...
Do Not Forget USSD: The Third Universal Mobile Application

Do Not Forget USSD: The Third Universal Mobile Application

Published on: Aug 29 2018 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
Mobile applications designed to work with carrier provided services have generally focused on voice through Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and text through Short...
BASAbali: How the Internet Can Save Local Languages

BASAbali: How the Internet Can Save Local Languages

Published on: May 28 2018 by Guest Writer - 4 Comments
The Balinese Cultural Agency estimates that less than a fourth of Balinese can still speak the Balinese language.  Worldwide it is believed that “by the end...
Be Honest: You Hate Free Basics Because It’s Facebook

Be Honest: You Hate Free Basics Because It’s Facebook

Published on: Jan 14 2016 by Wayan Vota - 34 Comments
Yes, it is true. You don’t like Free Basics simply because it is a Facebook initiative. You may feel the need to hide your anger behind flowery language...
Dear Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Benin: Have You Heard of Wikipedia?

Dear Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Benin: Have You Heard of Wikipedia?

Published on: Nov 02 2012 by Wayan Vota - 4 Comments
Looking at this map of Wikipedia edits from Africa, I am surprised by the total lack of edits from the gray areas. Some countries, like Somalia & Somaliland,...
An Empty Gift? Free Wikipedia Access for Orange Kenya and Uganda Subscribers

An Empty Gift? Free Wikipedia Access for Orange Kenya and Uganda Subscribers

Published on: Aug 31 2012 by Wayan Vota - 8 Comments
Now any subscriber with an Orange Kenya or Orange Uganda SIM will be able to access Wikipedia through their mobile phone browser without data charges, according...
What if I gave you a fully loaded Macbook Air filled with content in Klingon?

What if I gave you a fully loaded Macbook Air filled with content in Klingon?

Published on: Aug 19 2011 by Wayan Vota - 3 Comments
That is what I think many good intentioned people do when they install computer systems without locally relevant content – they deploy the equivalent of a...
Is the WikiReader the killer eReader app that will transform the developing world?

Is the WikiReader the killer eReader app that will transform the developing world?

Published on: May 02 2011 by Wayan Vota - 3 Comments
Back in 2009, we were excited about the WikiReader from Openmoko. This $99 device has the 3+ million Wikipedia articles at your fingertips with only a micro-SD...
Righting Wikipedia’s African Information Imbalance

Righting Wikipedia’s African Information Imbalance

Published on: Dec 08 2009 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on Righting Wikipedia’s African Information Imbalance
It should not come as a surprise that Africa is poorly represented in Wikipedia. Most of their articles are written by people personally interested in a subject,...
Wikireader: a Digital Library of Alexandria, Offline

Wikireader: a Digital Library of Alexandria, Offline

Published on: Oct 19 2009 by Wayan Vota - 3 Comments
No matter how much bandwidth comes via the new fiber optic cables, there still will be massive offline areas in Africa. So there will still be a great craving for...