Wikimedia & wikiHow mobile updates

5:30pm: Doors open. Pizza & drinks. Time to chat.

6pm-ish: First talk starts.

The Wikimedia mobile challenge

by Brion Vibber (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Brion_VIBBER), Lead Software Architect at the WMF Mobile team.

Solving the mobile problem for the English Wikipedia is a complex task: how to display all kinds of text formats and content types in different browsers and mobile platforms, how to let users edit, contribute, discuss and socialize, how to make the most of the mobile experience e.g with geolocation. Add to the equation 285 languages, from Afrikaans to 中文. And that was only Wikipedia, we have also Wikimedia Commons, Wikibooks, Wikiversity, Wikivoyage and more.

It takes a lot of product management and development effort to get this equation right, and this is why the Wikimedia mobile team keeps hiring (http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Job_openings) and expanding. There are also many venues where technical volunteers can contribute (https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/How_to_contribute) and get involved in mobile (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mobile_projects/Contribute).

Brion Vibber was one of the first MediaWiki (http://mediawiki.org) developers and the first Wikimedia Foundation employee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-12-31/Interview). As you can see he keeps pushing the technical edge of Wikipedia.

wikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com/)'s new mobile redesign and editing tools

by Reuben Smith, Senior Engineer and Jack Herrick, Founder.

Open Mic

1 minute & 1 URL max.