Maya Anne Free Media
Methods
Statement of Intent
Free media allows people to learn unbiased information, promote culture, develop a democratic dialogue, and hold people in power accountable.
The Wikimedia Foundation upholds the value of free media in a constructive and educational way as opposed to social media platforms like Facebook or Youtube that still operate with motives of monetization.
By informing people about the value of free media, I can support dialogue regarding the importance of resources like the Wikimedia Foundation.
Wikidata
Wikidata was the perfect platform to collect data because it has a heavily documented and comprehensible platform allowing me to conduct research on a variety of variables across Wikimedia's projects. For the Censorship Severity map I used data from Comparitech that was conveniently packaged in a CSV because Wikidata did not have data on the topic.
I wanted to highlight the user influence on the projects so I chose a variety of data sets that would represent the democratic nature of the platforms.
User Insights
Utilizing resources like Wikimedia Commons can seem like a daunting task so I used the Creative Commons segment to simplify what licenses mean and how open licenses can benefit both the creater and the user.
Creative Commons
I focused on Wikimedia Commons for one segment of the project because it exemplifies the nature of free media. By including top Wikimedia files for the month of November 2023, I aimed to show how the files reflected the current political climate and how that documentation plays into free media.
Wikimedia Commons
Findings
Correlations
Via user insights, I noticed that there is a correlation to countries with high censorship severity and their usage on Wikimedia Commons. This is because access to the platforms are often banned in these regions.
Media
Showcasing the media file distribution demonstrated how prevalent the image presence is on Wikimedia Commons. From the top files visual, viewers can observe the Isreal and Palestine conflict unfolding. This addresses how free media can be utilized as a news source and it's importance for documenting historical events. Demonstrating how many edits they made, files contributed, and where they accessed Wikimedia allows for the viewers to understand the scales of the projects as well.
Visuals
Bar graphs allow viewers to observe the scale of the projects in comparison to other variables. I found this to be remarkably valuable because it highlighted how broad the projects can be and how they compare to each other. The maps did a wonderful job of mapping my data because it provided geographical context for what would otherwise be a bar graph making the data hard to visualize.
Colors
I used warm tones on a cool background to provide contrast in a way that was more visually appealing than a white background. The gradual warm tones help to demonstrate the intensity of the data's highs and lows. This color scheme was applied across visuals to develop cohesiveness across the site.
Fonts
Google sheets has limited font capabilities so I chose the boldest font that would be the most legible on a large or small scale for accessibility and to support mobile users as well.
Format
I opted for a website to represent my visuals because it directly addresses free media distribution via online platforms. This format also allows the project to be shared as a real resource and develope dialogue about free media.