Help:Onboarding

When joining Wikimedia wikis and other web services - it is not always clear how to:

• connect - to other individuals and groups (especially geo-locally and/or contextually-thematically relatable)
• present - to make yourself and your experiences, know-how and skills findable/usable (across contexts, processes and dynamics)
• commit - to know of options and join different activities/actions (online, offline or hybrid)
• ...and that can lead to one experiencing feelings of:
  • inadequacy (though everyone should be welcome regardless of experience)
  • insecurity (though non-intentional mistakes can be done and mostly undone in more then one way, so wiki mistakes are OK)
  • alienation (though people socialize in few ways on Wikimedia its selectively and/or some decide not to...find What+withWho works for you)

Usually there is not just one single obvious and useful option in acting on Wikimedia that works for all, but most often multiple/concurrent options and that makes it hard evaluate and choose from (sometimes even for informed Wikipedian/Wikimedian). In the time of online information overload this can inhibit/limit action and influence productivity...

This Outreach wiki is (exceptionally) outward facing and focused on work of Wikimedians with external partners and new/perspective contributors who might have little or no Wikimedia insights. It is even more useful to externals to get the offered guidance.

Here are a few suggestions on potential pathways depending on your background, experience and interests.

• If you are skilled and experienced Wikimedian that is informed of GLAM and/or Education work in Wikimedia, who wants to support others, be available for consultation and engage with different topic areas, you might want to make a User page profile that describe some of your competencies and experiences, as well as make yourself visible/available locally/regionally on listings pages of Education per country, GLAM with local contacts and/or thematically GLAM volunteers. You might also want to create profile on forum.movement-strategy.org which had a built in automatic content translation (for logged in Wikimedians).

• If you are joining in as an external professional engaged in an institution, experienced freelancer, student or enthusiast in culture and education your focuses and needs might be best directed in specific areas here...(tbc)