2019:Technology outreach & innovation/URL shortener: How something so simple can be so complicated

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Technology outreach & innovation/URL shortener: How something so simple can be so complicated
Szymborska · Friday 13:30 - 14:00
Session recording

Description[edit | edit source]

URL shortening services have been around in internet for a long time now, Wikimedia fully blocked them as they are used to mask spam. As the result, we needed to have a URL shortener to use in projects and a request made six years ago and earlier this year it went live. You can read more about Wikimedia URL shortener in https://w.wiki/Q8

This session is trying to answer why it took six years to deploy this new feature and try to point out to lessons learned for future infrastructural projects for the coming years.

Relationship to the theme[edit | edit source]

This session will address the conference theme — Wikimedia, Free Knowledge and the Sustainable Development Goals — in the following manner:


Wikimedia URL shortener is a useful tool for fast sharing of information of Wikimedia projects on all types of devices including people who don't own a PC but they own phone and they are tired of writing long (maybe non-Latin) URLs in their phones, it's related to SDG #9 to move forward for having proper infrastructure for innovation in Wikimedia movement.

This session also points out to challenges of maintaining infrastructure in a large scale.

Session outcomes[edit | edit source]

At the end of the session, the following will have been achieved:

  1. People will know the complexities and limitations behind Wikimedia URL shortener
  2. People know how to use the Wikimedia URL shortener properly and efficiently

Session leader(s)[edit | edit source]

  • Amir Sarabadani

Contacts[edit | edit source]

  • amir.sarabadani@wikimedia.de

Session type[edit | edit source]

Each Space at Wikimania 2019 will have specific format requests. The program design prioritises submissions which are future-oriented and directly engage the audience. The format of this submission is a:

  • Lecture

Requirements[edit | edit source]

The session will work best with these conditions:

  • Room
    • A small lecture hall
  • Audience:
    • No special requirement
  • Recording:
    • It should be okay to film by a single fixed-location camera, sharable on the internet, with a free-licence


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