Cori Nichols, Will Kent Blog Post

Will Kent presented how Wikidata works and why it is so important and useful tool for every search engine. He talked about how internet tools like Google and Bing get a lot of their information from Wikidata. He also informed us about the different symbols and identification numbers on Wikidata and what they mean and why they’re important. All of this information was really useful for students who are trying to navigate and learn about wikidata because it can be really confusing for people when they first start to use this tool. One thing I learned from Will was how anyone can input information into wikidata. This can be a super useful thing to have but also something that can be dangerous. It is useful because it transforms wikidata into a super powerful resource with tons of information because if you only had a couple people inputting all different kinds of information it would be nearly impossible to have the number of results that it does now. It can be harmful because someone could easily input false information that is not currently accurate. Will was saying that since not that many people are educated on how this platform works they haven’t really had a big issue of false information but this is something that people should be aware of when using this platform. On page 26 of the Digital Humanities Coursebook, it states “Data privacy is a critical concern when dealing with any information related to individuals, particularly vulnerable populations… In addition to understanding restrictions on gathering data or storage of data should be considered as part of research practice”. I think this is a really important quote because information has significant power and the importance of digital privacy I think is something that should be considered more and regulated. Having Will talk to our class has impacted my approach to wikidata because it sparked my curiosity to explore and engage with Wikidata further, with a sense of responsibility in ensuring the quality of information shared on this platform. Will’s visit deepened my appreciation for the potential of digital humanities and instilled a sense of responsibility in how I can use these tools to engage with and contribute to a global community. It reinforced the idea that, in the digital era, each of us has the capacity to create positive impacts in digital humanities. Having Will come in person was beneficial for engagement and interaction. Even though you can still be engaged and interact with someone through zoom, having an in person conversation creates a dynamic connection between the lecturer and the audience.