Overview
Wikipedia is one of the most frequently visited websites in the world. The vast online encyclopedia, editable by anyone, has become the go-to source for general information on any subject. Building user-friendly apps that people can actually use on top of Wikipedia’s massive dataset involves overcoming a number of challenges, but it can also be a lot of fun. Join Rob Kenedi, Entrepreneur In Residence at The Working Group (TWG) as he shares lessons learned in TWG’s Lab building WikiWash, a free tool for journalists that helps them uncover spin and bias in Wikipedia.
Objective
Learn how to build useful products using Wikipedia’s dataset.
Target Audience
Software developers, data journalists, product managers
Assumed Audience Knowledge
What Wikipedia is, and how web applications work
Five things audience members will learn
- How we built an open-source tool for journalists using Wikipedia
- How to manage the massive amounts of data in Wikipedia
- How to turn a non-technical pitch presentation into a working product that the client loves
- How TWG labs treats its projects, products and prototypes and what happens to them once they launch
- How WikiWash can be used to expose bias and spin on Wikipedia
