User:KConWiki/sandbox/Wikiproject C-SPAN?

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WikiProject C-SPAN?

Greetings fellow Wikipedia editor -

I am leaving you this note because I have reason to believe that you are interested in C-SPAN. (I may have made this assumption based on your C-SPAN user box, or perhaps for some other reason.) If this is not an interest of yours, please feel free to read no further and delete this message.

If you are in fact someone who is interested in C-SPAN, then let me put forward an idea that I have been kicking around for a while. What if we started a C-SPAN WikiProject?

The parameters of this (potential) project are up for discussion, but it could include some or all of the following (as well as things that may occur to you that have not occurred to me):

Creation, maintenance, and improvement of articles and lists directly related to C-SPAN and its programming.
Use of C-SPAN programming in citations for various topics
Inclusion of unique and targeted C-SPAN video links for various articles. (Doing this with respect for established guidelines at Wikipedia:External links.) (Example: If you are interested in the submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN-742), then having easy access to the eight hours of programming taped while a C-SPAN crew were guests on that submarine could also be of interest to you.)
Inclusion of (and possible further creation of) templated links such as {{C-SPAN|laurabush}}, that will easily take article readers to a link of all C-SPAN Video Library links for the person about whom the article is about.
What else?

I don't know exactly how far we may want to go, nor in what directions, but I do believe (as I have long noted on my user page) that C-SPAN and Wikipedia are both...

...fantastic vehicles for the free exchange of ideas and information in a non-sound-bite manner, and they both invite the participation of any parties (expert or amateur) who are interested in taking the time to absorb and/or contribute to the ideas and information offered. C-SPAN and Wikipedia go together like peanut butter and jelly, and I want to help give other Wiki users easy access to the great work that C-SPAN has done on a variety of topics.

Now, I should mention that I have never started a WikiProject before, and I do not know the best way to go about it. (Perhaps one of you do?) Let me offer one of my sandbox pages, User:KConWiki/sandbox/Wikiproject C-SPAN?, as a gathering area for comments until such time as we gather enough steam to start our own WikiProject page.

Thanks for reading this far, and I hope that you will give some consideration as to whether this is something we ought to attempt. Please feel free to pass this message on to others you know whom might be interested, and please let me know your thoughts and comments.

Please discuss here

Hi there -- firstly good work on the attention you're giving to C-SPAN & related topics! Regarding a potential Wikiproject, I'm not sure if C-SPAN is enough -- perhaps broaden the scope of a Wikiproject to Parliamentary and public affairs broadcasters overall. I think that may be a broader topic to interest more editors -- I'd be interested in taking part Australian Matt (talk) 14:07, 26 March 2013 (UTC)

Hi Matt - That sounds like a very plausible idea to consider, although I must say that I am not familiar with most of the other broadcasters. Let's see if others have a response. KConWiki (talk) 00:28, 28 March 2013 (UTC)

I think that "C-SPAN" is a generally accepted term for all such broadcasts. C-SPAN can be as broad or narrow as we choose- anyone who has been featured on C-SPAN or an affiliate could be included, OR it could only be on C-SPAN's programming and direct talks. It is similar to WikiProject United States- Oregon is considered a part of the project, even though it is not technically part of the federal government (if you follow my thinking- I am writing this pretty late at night and might not be completely coherent). KConWiki- I really do like this idea. Thank you for putting it forward and count me in. PrairieKid (talk) 05:56, 1 April 2013 (UTC)

I think Cspan is a great service and would love to to see a Wiki project utilizing Cspan's information but don't know if it'd work. My nerd side thinks it'd be great but I don't know enough about it and how it'd work. Whatever we do, expanding it seem fine but what's the idea for that too? ─ Matthewi ^(Talk) • 05:35, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

Hi Matthew (2nd responder named Matt/Matthew, btw) - Well, let's let it rattle around in our minds for a while and see what percolates... As for what we would do - Think of all the books and authors out there with hour-long (or longer) discussions from BookTV that could be matched to Wiki articles. Think of all the pieces of legislation that have wiki articles that could have House or Senate debate clips incorporated into their articles. Think of all the newspaper offices they have visited where video could be incorporated into the article for the newspaper... The list goes on, and I don't claim to have a comprehensive plan or anything. KConWiki (talk) 15:19, 30 March 2013 (UTC)