Reports/2012/January

Below is the Wikimedia UK monthly report for the period 1 to 31 January 2012. If you want to keep up with the chapter's activities as they happen, please subscribe to our blog, join our mailing list, and/or follow us on Twitter. If you have any questions or comments, please drop us a line on this report's talk page.

Program activities

Expert outreach

11th Wikipedia Birthday cake

• Girl Geeks, Bristol, 11th Wikipedia Birthday (cake!)

Other activities

• Microgrants approved this month include ...

SOPA

This month's major news story was the English Wikipedia blackout against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) that took place on 18 January. The blackout was a community decision; Wikimedia UK supported the community's decision, and explained it to the media and public. Roger Bamkin, Jon Davies, David Gerard, Martin Poulter and Steve Virgin gave many interviews to the media, supporting the Wikimedia Foundation's media communications led by Jimmy Wales, Sue Gardner and Jay Walsh. WMUK also put out two blog posts: [1] [2]

Newspaper coverage

• BBC: Wikipedia joins web blackout in Sopa protest, 17 Jan, Wikipedia co-founder defends 24-hour shut down, 17 Jan, Wikipedia co-founder defends 24-hour shut down, 17 Jan, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales explains 24-hour shutdown, 17 Jan, Without Wikipedia, where can you get your facts? 18 Jan, * Почему Википедия и Google видят угрозу в Sopa и Pipa?, 18 Jan, Wikipedia - after the blackout, 19 Jan, 24 hour blackout is over as Wikipedia goes online, 19 Jan (CBBC Newsround), Sopa and Pipa protests not over, says Wikipedia, 19 Jan
• Telegraph: Wikipedia to shut down for 24 hours in piracy protest, 17 Jan, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales defends SOPA protest blackout, 17 Jan, Wikipedia and Google join anti-piracy bill protest, 18 Jan], Keep your claws out of Wikipedia’s anthill, 18 Jan, How to access Wikipedia during the 24-hour blackout, 18 Jan, Wikipedia hails blackout protest as success, 19 Jan, Yesterday's SOPA blackout proved that we're lost in a world without Wikipedia, 19 Jan (Telegraph blogs)
• Guardian: Twitter boss slams Wikipedia's 'silly' Sopa protest, 16 Jan, Wikipedia's blackout looms, 17 Jan, Sopa blackout and day of action - as it happened, 18 Jan, Behind the music: What if the culture industry shut down for a day?, 19 Jan, Music blog
• TechRadar: 24-hour Wikipedia blackout will protest SOPA/PIPA, 16 Jan, Wales: Wiki blackout will send global message, 17 Jan
• Metro: Wikipedia blackout to hit the web in protest against US anti-piracy laws, 16 Jan - Front page news
• Reuters: Wikipedia to shut for 24 hours to stop anti-piracy act, 16 Jan, Wikipedia to shut for 24 hours to stop anti-piracy act, 17 Jan
• The Register: Wikipedia to shut down Wednesday in SOPA protest, 16 Jan
• Financial Times: Wikipedia’s anti-SOPA blackout will go ahead on Wednesday, 16 Jan
• Wired: Wikipedia will go down on 18 January, 17 Jan
• Huffington Post: Wikipedia To 'Go Dark' For 24 Hours In Protest Against US Stop Online Piracy Act, 17 Jan
• T3: Wikipedia UK goes offline in protest of SOPA, 18 Jan
• The Independent: Why I want to bring down the internet – for a day, 17 Jan, Wikipedia blackout: A reminder we shouldn’t take internet freedom for granted, 18 Jan, WWW: World Without Wikipedia, 19 Jan
• The Week: Wikipedia alternatives: where to go during piracy blackout, 17 Jan
• New Statesman: Wikipedia 24-hour blackout: a reader, 17 Jan, Why we're taking Wikipedia down for a day (by Steve Virgin), 17 Jan
• The i (Independent-connected), print, 17 Jan, "Protest sees Wikipedia go offline"
• New Scientist: Wikipedia to shut for 24 hours over US anti-piracy laws, 17 Jan
• The Mirror, Wikipedia: Why it will 'black out' tomorrow - the background explained, 17 Jan, Wikipedia blackout against anti-piracy laws hailed a success, 19 Jan
• The Times: Negative opinion piece by David Aaronovitch, behind paywall
• Daily Mail: Google joins Wikipedia 'day of darkness' protest - but is it a blackout after all?, 18 Jan, Wikipedia protest hits home: U.S. senators withdraw support for anti-piracy bills as 4.5 million sign petition, 19 Jan
• Bristol 24/7: Bristol Wikipedians back protest against piracy laws
• MSN UK: Wikipedia hails 'blackout' success, 19 Jan
• UK Press Association: Wikipedia hails 'blackout' success, 19 Jan
• publicservice.co.uk, Top UK government official supports Wikipedia blackout, 19 Jan
• The Sun, Bogus facts flood the net during Wikipedia blackout, 19 Jan
• The Drum, Wikipedia traffic increases during blackout, 19 Jan

Radio

• BBC World Service: 12:30, 17th Jan, Roger Bamkin
• BBC Radio 4, World at One (13:30, 17th Jan, Jimmy Wales), [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019fx9v PM, 5:45pm, David, discussion with pro and con
• BBC Radio Scotland. Newsdrive, 4-6pm Tue, David Gerard. Morning show, David, 8:15am
• BBC Radio 5 Live, Jimmy Wales. Also 7.40am, 18 Jan, Steve.
• BBC Radio London: David, Wed 18th, 7:12am
• BBC local radio stations: Devon, Foyle, Shropshire, Cornwall, Manchester, Humberside, Bristol, Guernsey, Jersey, 3CR Luton, Northampton, Lincolnshire (18 Jan, Steve)
• BBC Radio Wales/Cymru Wednesday AM - Martin P.
• Monocle: 12.30, 17th Jan, David Gerard (live + podcast, ~4 mins long)
• NPR (US), David Gerard, circa 13.30 GMT, 17th Jan
• Voice of Russia, American Edition, David Gerard, 15 mins, to be broadcast 18 Jan

TV

• BBC Newsnight, 17 Jan: interview with Jimmy Wales by live feed
• BBC News 24, 18 Jan (Steve)?
• BBC News at 10, 18 Jan - about 18 mins in, Jon Davies
• 19 Jan, New Zealand TV, Jon Davies, http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/wikipedia-blacks-in-protest-video-4693707)
• Russia Today TV, Wed, London Jon Davies, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUNi7wE5Lto

UK Wikimedian blogs

• http://davidgerard.co.uk/notes/2012/01/19/sopa-blackout-post-mortem/

More information

• http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/English_Wikipedia_anti-SOPA_blackout
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative
• http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/01/16/wikipedias-community-calls-for-anti-sopa-blackout-january-18/ (over 2,000 comments!)
• http://blog.wikimedia.org/2011/12/13/how-sopa-will-hurt-the-free-web-and-wikipedia/
• https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/how-pipa-and-sopa-violate-white-house-principles-supporting-free-speech
• http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-01/17/sopa-101 (good background guide)

UK press coverage (and coverage of UK projects & activities)

• Monmouthpedia
  • Wikipedia launches new QR code project to document daily life in Monmouth, UK Qrcodepress.com, 2 January
  • Monmouth becomes the world’s first Wikipedia town monmouthshire.gov.uk, 2 January
  • Wikipedia as travel guide (Croatia) IT Vesti, 2 January
  • Wikipedia names Monmouth for new cultural project, Women in Technology, 3 January
  • Wikipedia brengt dorpsleven in beeld De Morgen (Dutch) 4 January
  • Wikipedia Takes Tourism Mobile business 2 community, 4 January
  • Is Monmouthpedia The Future Of Wikipedia?, TechDirt, 5 January
  • [3]
  • [4]
  • [5]
  • Council Backs Creation Of Monmouthpedia e-government bulletin, 12 January

• Wikimedia fundraiser
  • Wikipedia raises record $20million in fundraising as annual campaign ends, Metro, 3 January
  • Wikimedia reaches funding targets, fights SOPA, Wired, 3 January
  • Wikipedia attracts $20m from donors, The Times, 3 January
  • Wikipedia meets $20 million fundraising target, TechRadar, 3 Jan
  • Wikimedia raises record-breaking $20m, CivilSociety, 4 January

• PR company and Stella Artois
  • The lobbyists, the Russians, Google and “wife beater”, Tom Watson's blog, 2 January
  • Lobbying company tried to wipe out 'wife beater' beer references, Independent, 4 January
  • Lobby firm tries to get ‘wife beater’ nickname for Stella wiped off Wikipedia entry for beer, Daily Mail, 4 January
  • Stella Artois hires PR firm to get rid of "wife beater" nickname on Wikipedia., Mirror, 5 Jan

Upcoming activities in February

• (To be copied here from Events at the end of this month)

For events in March and onwards, please see Events.

Administrative activities

Board activities

Board meetings

• 3 January 2012 (Board)
• 24 January 2012 (Executive)

News from the Chief Exec

For information on Jon's activities this month, see News from the Office.

Staff

This month the chapter began recruiting for a Communications Organiser and interviews were conducted for the Events Organiser.

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