Wikiprogress platform technological updates

Hello all,

In the past few weeks there have been several technical improvements in Wikiprogress.org, which are focused on the User Experience.

• Join Button: in order to make it easier for new users to understand how Wikiprogress works, a new Join Button was placed on Wikiprogress Main Page on August 16th. This button not only gives the welcome to new users, but also shows several ways to get involved with the Wikiprogress project:
• Create/edit articles.
• Get blogging.
• Contribute to the Community Portal.
• Upload reports and research papers.
• Upload multimedia material.
• Join/follow on social media.
• Add a progress initiative.
• Add an event.
• Add a country policy history.

• Help page namespace: in order to improve the user experience and give a better understanding on how Wikiprogress works, its objectives and how to contribute, the Help namespace was updated. The majority of the Help articles were modified and a new banner was added to easily identify a Help topic (What is Wikiprogress?, Getting started, Navigation and Contributing). This way, the Help section is now more user-friendly, and each Help article focus on one subject, avoiding confusing and redundant terms.

• Social Media icons and strategy: new Facebook and Twitter buttons are placed now at the top left corner of each article in Wikiprogress. Those buttons show how many times a page has been “Liked” and “Tweeted”, providing  more statistics and social presence for each wiki article. 
  A new Wikiprogress group (WikiProgress Community) has been created on Facebook and a discussion on education has started. Please join us and collaborate with the Wikiprogress community!

• Wikichild/Wikiprogress calendar integration: the Wikichild community has increased its presence on the Wikiprogress since November 2011. It was thus decided that the Wikichild community should have the option of adding a child event directly onto the Wikiprogress calendar. And on the 6th of September this idea came alive on the Wikiprogress platform, so now all Child Events are fully integrated with Wikiprogress, giving them a broader audience and a wider presence on the progress community.

• Add Initiative form: one of the Wikiprogress main objectives is to give information on initiatives around the world on measures of progress (including sustainability, wellbeing and quality of life). Today, over 80 articles on Progress Initiatives are present on Wikiprogress, and in order to make it easier for users to add one, a new rapid-filling template was created. This template lets the user add the location, topic, homepage and Twitter account of the Initiative, as well as an overview, its background and main projects. If you know of a Progress Initiative, please contribute by adding it to Wikiprogress!

Further technological changes will be coming in the next months and we'll be happy to hear your needs and feedback. Please let us know your thoughts by sending them to info@wikiprogress.org

Isaac Contreras Sandoval
Wikiprogress Technological Consultant

Cyborg and Supercrip: Paralympics and Technological Progress

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius, also known as the Blade Runner made history on 4 August 2012 at the London Olympics by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics. The four-time Paralympic champion, 25, finished second in his 400m heat in a time of 45.44 seconds. For many Oscars story is more about very cool technological progress.

The London 2012 Paralympic Games are expected to have biggest crowd ever, with over 2.1 million tickets sold. The increased public profile of the Paralympic Games has resulted in technological progress in this areas, due to an increasing commercial marketplace for aerodynamic and feather light racing wheelchairs as well as biomechanically and ergonomically responsive prostheses; this has helped to create a legion of ‘cyborg’ bodies that is manifest in the image of the sporting ‘supercrip’(refer to note below). 

Mobility devices that enhance performance have also created a divide amongst ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ nation, whilst closing the gap in the performance between ‘cyborg’ and ‘able-bodied’ athletes.

To satisfy the demands of elite athletes, radical new technological developments in wheelchair designs such as the J-Leg, seated throwing chairs (Burkett B, 2003) and prostheses have revolutionised the sports. However, developing improved technology is only half the battle, since technolo­gies develop at different rates. Some nations might make advances in performance sim­ply because of their access to superior technology.

 “Medal tables at the Paralympic Games have been traditionally dominated by western nations in part because they are at the forefront of the technological advancements in mobility apparatus…The race to produce the most effi­cient and advanced mobility aids, has a leg race on its hands.”( P. David, 2011)

Since 1980s the materials from which prostheses are made have changed markedly from wood to fibreglass to all manner of carbon fibre and lightweight metals used in advanced scientific design. These mobility aids have been a product of state-of-the-art technologies and, as a result, they are producing performances that would have been considered impossible 20 years ago.

For many developing countries the cost of up-to-date the technology is a real barrier, as they cannot develop a disabled sport programmes integrating the latest technologies, when a state-of-the-art racing wheelchairs can cost upwards of 6,000€ and ergonomically designed prosthesis up to 25,000€, athletes from across the globe can find participation as cyborgs with state-of-the-art technology prohibitive.

At both the Olympics and the Paralympics, authorities must fundamentally strive to provide an even playing field, which includes ensuring equity of access to technology.

Future technological developments will have far-reaching effects on Paralympic athletes: their new assistive anatomy with its higher level of functionality will not only lead to improved efficiency in performing daily tasks but also enable more effective performance in the competition arena. Such technological progress needs to be more inclusive and enabling, such as the use of technologiesfor conflict prevention and the use of informationand communication for development rather than becoming a discussion about ‘those who have access to technology and those who don't’.

Technological Progress has even led some to argue that it's time to re-think the distinctions we makebetween competitors in the Olympics and Paralympics.  Eli Wolff, a former Paralympic soccer player (Director of the InclusiveSports Initiative) argues for more integrated and inclusive Olympic participation, whilst Andy Miah (Director of the Creative FuturesInstitute) believes that if modern Olympics were invented today, there wouldn't be a separate games for disabled athletes. There might even be more athletes competing since technological enhancements might rescue athletes from career-ending injuries.

Note: Athletes such as Pistorius who have amputated lower limbs often run on carbon fibre ‘blades’ that act as feet and as a result Pistorius has been referred to as the Blade Runner . In using such technology Paralympic athletes can be conceptualized as the embodiment of Haraway’s (1991) cyborg, which is a hybrid body resulting from fusion of a live organism and man-made technology. In the context of Paralympic sport the most successful cyborg athletes may be seen as ‘supercrips’. According to Berger (2008), supercrips ‘are those individuals whose inspirational sto­ries of courage, dedication, and hard work prove that it can be done, that one can defy the odds and accomplish the impossible’ (P. David, 2011 45: 868 Sociology).

Salema Gulbahar

Wikiprogress Coordinator

References: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18911479, 4 August 2012.
http://www.paralympic.org/news/record-paralympic-games-ticket-sales, 12 August 2012.
P. David Howe, Cyborg and Supercrip: The ParalympicsTechnology and the (Dis)empowerment of Disabled Athletes, 2011 45: 868 Sociology.
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/08/13/merging-the-paralympics-with-the-olympics/, CBC radio 13 August 2012.

Wikigender and Wikipedia have success in their University programs.

I just spotted this article on the Wikimedia Blog. It is all about students in cooperation with their teachers and Universities, writing their final term papers on Wikipedia. We think this is fabulous. So fabulous that Wikigender and Wikiprogress also have this program. This year we teamed up with Sciences Po in Paris, students at the American University in Paris and the CIDE in Mexico to encourage students to volunteer to write on gender equality. Next year we look forward to working with Universities in Thailand and India. See the Wikigender University Portal here.

Wikimedia University student Karl says in the Wikimedia blog, "“I still maintain that this Wikipedia project made a world of difference in being able to write well, and unlike a term paper, which is thrown away at the end of the semester, all the work that goes into a Wikipedia article continues to help people even after the class ends".

Wikigender took this one step further and made a selection of articles and published it via Pedia Press. This book contains articles on gender equality and education, migration and peace and security. You can buy the book here (who wouldn't want that in their stocking??) or download a printed copy. For more information see  the Wikigender University Portal.

Please let us know if you, your class or University would like to join this project at contact@wikigender.org.

Happy holidays!

Angela

The "era of opening up", a new word for "users" and a "good talking to"

Greetings from rainy and cold Brussels where I am attending an international conference on “Internet and Societies, new innovation paths” at the European Commission.


It is organised by the PARADISO initiative which aims at exploring how societies might evolve or co-evolve in the future and makes recommendations on how ICT and the Future Internet contributes to a better future.

This is a little different crowd than I usually see at these kinds of international conferences and the discussions are definitely lively. Here are a few of the highlights:

Today, in the afternoon session, there was Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO of The Internet Society who made a plea for all companies and governments to move over the IPv6 so that more IP addresses can be created.  She asked us all to check with our IT departments as this is a key issue that is limiting equal access to the internet globally. She also asked (and many of the researchers in the room agreed) that we seek a better term for the word “users” for those who interact with the Internet. I agree. That word doesn’t really encompass how people interact anymore. I’m trying to think of one word with one syllable….anyone? She also doesn’t see the security issue as all encompassing as some (even in the room) do. She thinks there is an element of risk in innovation and if we lock down the internet or its information because it might not be safe, we may miss out on the possibility that others can build on that.

Speaking of openness, Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Member of Prime Minister's Scientific Advisory Committee, India gave an impassioned speech on the power of the Internet in India. He said, “We are in an era of opening up”. I like that. He went on to say that the Internet provides cohesion, education, doctors and diversity. However, he warned that people can get lost on the internet and lose sight of reality. Among the problems with bringing the majority of the Indian population online is due to languages. He did say that using voice over the internet in local languages is proving to be successful. He reflected on whether governance can ever be fair and decentralised and whether Asia will define the Internet differently than the West. He is thinking on issues of “private lives” and with constant connectivity, it seems to be disappearing. Then he made a funny reference to Americans who send emails and expect a reply in 10 minutes even when its 2am in Delhi. He also agreed that the term “users” doesn’t suit and we must find ways to increase engagement on the Internet.

Another lively speech was given by Ruben Nelson, Executive Director, Foresight Canada. He says that internet and societies are co-evolving like a marriage. One cannot exist without the other both are responsible for what happens in the future. In his talk he gave us a "good talking to" by saying that the modern/industrial imagination is:
• Too fragmented

• Too short term

• Too shallow (in terms of thinking through difficult concepts)

• Too arrogant

In this context, he questions the concept of sustainability. Instead, he suggests that we should change and fix this nonsense rather than holding on to it in hopes that maybe we will get away with it. Applause.

So today, a lot of big thinking on the future of the internet and the relationship with societies. Tomorrow at this conference, I will talk about the Wikiprogress and Wikigender road and where they fit into all this as platforms for citizen engagement.

I think we can look forward to the recommendations that this crowd will put out soon. Stay tuned to Wikiprogress for updates.

Angela

PS: Trevor, are we on IPv6?

Mobile Twitter apps won't put food on the table

The potential for Facebook and Twitter to help social activists organize and share information is well known. How important these social media tools actually are for collective action remains less clear. In 2009, many of us first heard of an uprising in Moldova thanks to Twitter. Subsequently, tweets from post-election protests in Iran were "live-blogged" on sites like the Huffington Post. Time magazine quickly labelled Twitter the "medium of the moment" after the U.S. State Department asked the micro-blogging service to postpone scheduled maintenance downtime during the Iranian protests. Social media quickly became the darling of those who supported the protests, particularly those sitting in front of their laptops in the developed world.

Watching recent events in Tunisia and Egypt, my colleague Angela asked whether these "revolutions will be Facebooked?" Social media moved directly to the fore in Egypt when the authorities detained and then eventually released Google's head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, Wael Ghonim. Ghonim had administered a Facebook group that helped organize protesters and for a while at the height of the protests, he communicated solely through social media. Surely his detention hints to the seriousness with which regimes at risk view the threat of social media.

On the other hand, folks like Malcolm Gladwell and Evgeny Morozov call those who overemphasize social media's role in civil activism "cyber-" or "digital-utopians." Gladwell argues that the revolution won't be twittered because social media build weak ties, rather than the strong ties needed to galvanize "high risk" social activism. Morozov's recent book The Net Delusion deflates cyber-utopianism differently: in every way social media empowers protesters, he says, it can equally empower the powers that be. As @nancyscola pointed out on Twitter yesterday: "Egyptian revolutionaries seemed to have been blessed with a regime extraordinarily bad at the Internet." Iran's government, in contrast, may be more internet savvy, as their post-protest crackdowns in 2009 seem to show.

Across the Twitterverse at present the debate is now coming full circle. Jay Rosen, a well-known professor at NYU, lambasts what he calls the "Twitter can't topple dictators" genre. Rosen says the nay-sayers are simplifying the cyber-utopian position. They aren't bothering to address the interesting question of how social media tools have changed the balance of power between citizens and their governments, he says. Jeff Jarvis from CUNY also criticizes Gladwell and Morozov for their "curmudgeonry." Facebook and Twitter didn't topple Mubarak, he acknowledges, but some of the Egyptians who did organized themselves with these social media tools. Much as Gutenberg's printing press empowered Martin Luther to disseminate his 95 theses back in the 16th century.

Amidst all the history lessons, sociology lectures, and name-calling (and the associated tweets, links, and status updates) a lot of web traffic has been driven to all sides of the debate... without the discussion advancing very far. Indeed, some see the glass half-empty, while others see it half-full.

Nonetheless, a few common threads are emerging from the polemic. All sides agree that social media have altered the way that both social activists and governments organize themselves and communicate. But whether optimistic or pessimistic about the democratizing potential of social media tools, everyone can also agree that a mobile phone with a Twitter app won't provide jobs to the unemployed overnight, or put food on the table of the hungry.

As Google's Wael Ghonim tweeted a few hours ago: "Just a clarification to all Egyptians: I don't belong to any political alliance. I don't support anyone for presidency. That's not my role." While the web 2.0 tools may have helped keep a crowd of unhappy citizens from becoming an angry mob, it is up to traditional political processes and local institutions to pick up the pieces after the crowd disperses. It is citizens, not Twitter, nor Facebook, nor Google, who will need to build a responsive and well-functioning government that can provide adequate services to the people. A month after the fall of Ben Ali in Tunisia, the thousands of young Tunisians fleeing by sea to Europe remind us that picking up the pieces after the crowd disperses is often easier said than done.

Chris Garroway

Photo credit: http://www.tednguyenusa.com/the-next-egypt-in-social-media-revolution-2-0/

The Revolution IS Currently and Will be …. Facebooked?

Last Friday, at the International Conference on Social Cohesion and Development organised at the OECD there were several papers presented on civic participation. The basic premise of our paper is that social networks are a good tool for citizens and governments alike to communicate and even develop their programs and agendas.

The session was on Friday morning at 11:00 am Tunisia time.

In this session, a very interesting comment came up while discussing hard and soft social capital was the idea of where and whether these social networks like Twitter and Facebook can actually make a difference. Where is the point where they actually matter? Well, if you are following any of this debate, you have seen that there are two very clear camps. Clay Shirkey is most prolific on in the pro-social network camp and Malcolm Gladwell in the anti-social network camp.

An article in the New Yorker by Gladwell (anti) entitled “Why The Revolution will not be Tweeted” states that Twitter will never be able create a revolution because the ties are too loose to bind people to create a movement. He also stated here that there just isn’t enough evidence to prove that in the absence of the internet these demonstrations wouldn’t have happened anyway.

Clay Shirkey (pro) in the article From Innovation to Revolution in Foreign Affairs stated that “Digital networks have acted as a massive positive supply shock to the cost and spread of information, to the ease and range of public speech by citizens, and to the speed and scale of group coordination. As Gladwell has noted elsewhere, these changes do not allow otherwise uncommitted groups to take effective political action. They do, however, allow committed groups to play by new rules.

Perhaps the evidence that Gladwell is looking for to prove that these networks matter is that reportedly authorities in Tunisia had been hacking into Facebook in order to steal passwords of users. But, if Facebook hadn’t been there, there would have been nothing for them to steal and therefore the identities of activists would have been safer. New rules indeed. According to Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at The Atlantic “If you need a parable for the potential and pitfalls of a social-media enabled revolution, this is it: the very tool that people are using for their activism becomes the very means by which their identities could be compromised”

Jillian York of the Berkman Center for the Internet and Society at Harvard University, who has been tracking the Tunisian situation closely. "There are a lot more Facebook users than Twitter users. Facebook allows for strong ties in a way that Twitter doesn't. You're not just conversing." So, Mr. Gladwell seems to have some agreement on Twitter. But, what about Facebook? Suddenly, Facebook is providing virtual “stronger” ties that can make a difference.

This article in the Atlantic came out on Tuesday morning which I think is the first we have seen on how Facebook had to rapidly respond to user information being compromised in Tunisia and how “Facebook went from being a waste of time or procrastination tool, to my go-to source on up-to-date information. It was stuff the major media channels weren't reporting, such as numbers to call to reach the military and what was happening when in what specific neighborhood" according to one activist.

Here we are now at 18:00 Cairo time today and on the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/elshaheeed.co.uk entitled “We are all Khaled Said” there are up to the minute updates on where and when the next demonstration will be in Egypt, live video and photos as well as some incredibly good illustrations about this movement. The illustration on this blog is from there.

So, to answer the question as to where and whether social networks matter, the answer is (as of now) Tunisia and Egypt and yes they do. I lean on the side of Shirkey. Gladwell is not wrong though in that these events probably would have happened anyway. But, they are now happening faster and cheaper. This matters.

Angela Hariche

Illustrator's link: http://www.facebook.com/#!/elshaheeed.co.uk

Stats update from Trevor

Hello again to all our wikiprogress fans out there - its been a while since the last update and a lot has been happening in the wikiprogress world since I posted back in July.

For a start we now have a new interface in place that allows you to load your own progress related data into the wikiprogress database. The wiki-loader walks you through the steps involved in uploading data and metadata files. See for yourself just how simple it is to do. We already have 96 data sets in the system and we want yours as well... so get uploading people!

The most recent data set to be uploaded is called "Is life Getting Better" and includes 32 indicators of progress. It was uploaded by the Global Social Change Research Project and covers a diverse range of subjects such as climate, poverty, human rights, life expectancy - check it out.

We're also adding new features to the eXplorer data visualisation software with the help of our friends at NComVA thanks to Professor Mikael Jern and his team. 

And last but not least, 20/10 2010 is the first World Statistics day - there will be a lot of exciting events happening all over the globe to mark the event - check the official web site to find out what is happening near you! Also, have a look at how we plan to celebrate and support Wikiprogress by sharing this poster with your colleagues and friends.

Until next time... Trevor.

Trevor's update on wiki.stat

Well the World Cup is over we can finally talk about something else other than football - although I must say it was wonderful to see the progress Africa has made in organising such a marvellous tournament. Thanks for that South Africa. And while we were all watching Italy, France and England self-destruct there has been a great deal of activity in the wiki.stat data warehouse. As you of course remember from technical updates #1 to #4 wiki.stat is the online database where we are uploading the datasets that you have been sending us to provide a unique repository of progress-related statistical data. In the last two months the warehouse has grown to cover themes ranging from Biodiversity to Social Welfare, Physical and Mental health to Freedom of Speech, Education to World Peace….I could go on but I won’t because it would take me too long to type it and you should just go and see it for yourself if you haven’t already.

And there is more data coming. Much more.

So go here and check it out for yourselves – and please get back to us with feedback and suggestions for other data that you know about that you think could find a home there.

Wikiprogress.stat

Trevor

(find out more about the background of wikiprogress.stat here)

Crowd Sourcing for Progress

I really can’t go anywhere these days without hearing about crowd sourcing – the power of the crowd. Here are a few numbers, reports, sites that I came across recently and each made me think about the positive power of collaboration on a grand scale :

• Ushahidi initiative in Kenya – uses the power of the crowd to make people aware of incidents of crime via SMS messages on people’s phones
• Wikinomics, Lisbon Council report- on the era of openess
• ThinkTank - an open source crowdsourcing platform the White House will use.
• Open Gov – This is a project which is opening the US government's data and plans to the citizens.
• Appropedia- a powerful wiki on sustainable development and a partner of wikiprogress.
• Facebook is now the fourth largest country in the world.
• Wikiprogress has increased 1000% in visits and articles since January 2010.
• Wikigender visits have been increasing every month since September 2009.

The OECD and the Global Project for Measuring the Progress of Societies chose to try collaborative community style wikis rather than just the traditional website. These projects, through partnerships, search engine optimization and social networking are working to harness the power of the internet to try to take stock in initiatives surrounding gender quality and societal well being. These are two topics where it is particularly interesting to crowd source (or try to get as many people in the community as possible). In the field of gender equality, one of the main issues is data or lack thereof. A traditional website is not asking for opinions or inviting more people to contribute to the cause. Wikigender is asking you to contribute to gender equality by submitting your data, your videos and your initiatives rather than asking you to sit back and read what we have written. The site belongs to the community of users. Wikiprogress is looking at societal well being. Isn’t it up to the citizens to decide what is best for them? Wikiprogress is asking for your data, your initiatives and your opinions and the hope is that we will start to get more initiatives at the community level.

But what about quality? These wikis better have the highest quality data, articles and editorial! The OECD has very high quality work and a rigorous editorial process ensuring this. However, traditional media cannot possibly compete with the internet and the collaborative communities it enables. In a wiki style of working, if we can attract voices from the South or voices from the ground, we can gather more data and have exponentially increasing editors. Basically we are casting a wider net with this kind of organization. With more people watching the site, the better the quality becomes.

So if everyone can go on a wiki and upload their data and publish what they like, what will happen to the “expert”? The Ushahidi site uses crowd sourcing to make people aware of incidents of crime via SMS messages on people’s phones but it doesn’t analyze the crimes committed and punish the perpetrators (yet!). Clearly, there will always be a place for the expert in this world so I don’t think there is any need to worry. This is not to minimize the expert but rather to augment the expert supplying more data so more people can be more informed about policies their government and others are making.

A wiki is only a platform. It is the content in the platform that I get excited about. It is the power of a crowd of people working toward the same end without the usual incentives that drive people to do things. I find that very interesting and a real feeling of hope is generated with that.

Angela

Trevor's Technical Update #3

Hello again Blog followers – it’s been a few weeks since my last post and I know you’re desperate for your next fix of technical updates in the world of wikiprogress. So here it comes.

First off we have made huge strides in the implementation of the famous ‘vislets’ – these are the plug-ins to our eXplorer dynamic graphics visualisation tool developed by our friends at NComVA that allows you to view stories based on data selected from the wikiprogress.stat data warehouse.

Just click the ‘play’ button below to animate the interface.

You’ll see information on Fertility rates in women and employment. The default setting is to track Spain and Italy in the bubble chart but you can just select any other country by simply clicking it on the map. The bubble chart axis allow you to simultaneously visualise the relationship between total population, fertility rate and employment rate. The colour scale on the map also indicates the fertility rate over time. Not bad eh?

Remember that any data from the wikiprogress.stat data warehouse (where anyone can upload their own progress-related data) can be selected and then analysed with this very powerful tool.

And speaking of wikiprogress.stat, just to remind you of its goals and aims Wikiprogress.Stat is driven by the need to inform and stimulate knowledge on Progress. It is supported and based at the OECD, it encourages imports and initiatives from every corner of the World.

Lately we have received a deluge of data that we are preparing to load and make public in the data warehouse. This covers topics which range from Economy Statistics (National Accounts, Household Investment, Hours worked, GDP, GFCF) to Quality of life (Health, Recreation and Culture, Freshwater, Development and Poverty or Atmosphere statistics)amongst others. And this is..on top of what we already have in Human Well-being, Gender issues and Peace….so place your cursor on the image below, click, and have a look around.

Trevs Prog Blog Tech Blog #2

Hello again progress tecchies, its Trev here with the latest progress on progress. It’s only a short blog though, just to keep you up to date ahead of some big news coming soon. Let’ s just call it a blogino , or even a bloguette .

First off, the data. Remember I told you about it in my first blog. What do you mean you don’t remember? You didn’t read it !? Then go here and do so immediately:

Well anyway, yes, the data is starting to come in. Big news announcement ! We’ve opened up the wiki.stat communal data bank on progress for you citizens to upload your stuff and you’re now doing the right thing. You can visit www.wikiprogress.org/stats and find all sorts of goodies about love, peace and harmony (and gender issues too….). Check out the wonderfully named Happy Planet Index for example to see who’s satisfied with their life and who isn’t. Or the National Accounts of Well-being or ask some questions of the Is life getting better? dataset - how can you possibly resist it !?

And this is just the start. We want to get more and more of this to fulfil our dreams and build the definitive database on progress. So get loading people. For now you are allowed to be lazy and just send us an email to info@wikiprogress.org demanding that one of our team of dedicated technoids do all the work for you. Soon you’ll be able to use our online interface and do it yourselves.

And once your data is up there you can unlock all the stories it contains with the eXplorer interface I was telling you about. We’ve been working hard with our friends the boffins at NCVA who developed the interface so you can select any data you want from your table to view it via the eXplorer. And Bingo ! We’re going to showcase this in early March so watch this space….

Another area we’re thinking about is about linking our progress tables in wiki.stat to related data using semantic web techniques. It’s the next big thing of course. For now it’s just a twinkle in our tecchies eyes but watch this space for more mouth-watering references about URIs, RDF and triples…..be the first in the know and wow your friends and acquaintances at cocktail parties !

Feel free to comment or get back to us. Don’t be shy now.

Trevs Prog Blog Tech Blog

Hello Progress People,


This is Trevor here opening up the wikiprogress technical blog. I can already hear you thinking ‘hmmmm – a blog about technical aspects of a wiki about progress – how absolutely thrilling. I think a large IT manual must have been dropped on this poor fellows head from a great height. Let’s see what’s on the other channel……’ . But hang on a few moments before you disappear off to facebook or twitter or whatever because there have some been some very exciting and innovative developments in the last few months that are all coming together on the wikiprogress site as I type these very words.


So here is the big news progress people: we have made it possible for anybody with facts about progress they want to share and a story to tell to load their own data into our very own progress database and to combine it with a stunning visual graphics interface which in our humble opinion add a whole new dimension to the traditional wiki. I might even modestly say: ‘now that is what I call progress’.


Our first version of the data uploader will allow you or anyone else with data about progress to shift it from your laptop up into the wikiprogress.stat data warehouse which will launch about a week . (the loader is still being tested but if you would like your data to show in wikiprogress.stat, please contact info@wikiprogress.org and we will upload it for you). Once your data is loaded it can be shown along with your article like this so you have the facts to back up your text. We have some great datasets on deck to be loaded and we look forward to more of the progress community’s involvement so we can start to fill wikiprogress.stat. The peoples database - more progress !

And now it starts to get even better. If you have a story to tell about your data (say you want to show how country A has become happier over time with an increase in the consumption of chocolate but the reverse has happened in country B) then you will be able to use our eXplorer visualisation tool (developed by our very good friends at NCVA) to show this in an animated way using maps and bubble charts. Compelling isn’t even in it. It’s difficult to describe such a magical tool and a picture does tell a thousand words so take a look at this short video clip from the BBC rather than just take my word for it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8130554.stm

The link between the data and the explorer is currently in beta but watch this space for new developments!

Onwards and upwards.
Trevor