On #Wikipedia we have no friends

#Facebook is wildly successful because all your "friends" are there. Wikipedia by contrast has a problem growing its community, it is not where you have friends.

Most of my Facebook friends I know because of a mutual Wikimedia interest. Many of these friends I have met and I would consider helping them when asked. Leigh Thelmadatter came to me for help because I advertised myself as a GLAM ambassador.

She is preparing a GLAM partnership with a Mexican museum and, I have enjoyed many an interesting conversation with her and was happy to help her with several Tropenmuseum pictures of Mexican objects.

Conversations among friends are not limited to the business at hand. We talked about education, Mexico, photography, pain in my back ... The photography part provides an other reason how Leigh adds to her Wikimedia relevance; she has uploaded over 5100 pictures taken by her and her husband of the nooks and crannies of Mexico and this makes it an awesome collection.

As she likes the picture of the San Miguel Concá mission very much and as it clearly demonstrates a different style of church, I nominated it for featured picture.

I wish that we could all be friends, Wikipedia friends. I wish I could help my friends who come new to Wikipedia. It will help when you can find the friends that are already there. When you make a booboo as a newbie, it is friends who can help you best settling in, who can make you feel welcome.

Wikipedia is not Facebook, but we can learn from Facebook how to be nice and have friends.
Thanks,
      GerardM