Listen to Wikipedia, also known as L2W or Hatnote: Listen To Wikipedia, is a multimedia visualizer developed by Mahmoud Hashemi and Stephen LaPorte which translates recent Wikipedia edits into a display of visuals and sounds. The open source software application creates a real-time statistical graphic with sound from contributions to Wikipedia from around the world. To accomplish this, L2W uses the graphics library D3.js.[1]

Listen to Wikipedia
Developer(s)Stephen LaPorte, Mahmoud Hashemi
Repositorygithub.com/hatnote/listen-to-wikipedia
Written inJavaScript and HTML
License3-clause BSD license
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

The concept of Listen to Wikipedia is based on BitListen, originally known as Listen to Bitcoin, by Maximillian Laumeister.[2][3]

Presentation edit

 
Listen to Wikipedia exhibited at the University of Virginia

Audio edit

Each edit produces a note in the pentatonic scale.[4] The bell-like sounds of a celesta correspond to edits with a net addition of content to Wikipedia, and the strums of a clavichord correspond to net subtractions of content. The pitch is inversely proportional to the size of the edit (lower pitched notes are produced by larger edits).[5] Newly registered Wikipedia users are welcomed by a string chord.[6][3]

Visuals edit

Each edit creates a circle of one of three colors: white for registered users, green for unregistered users, and violet for Wikipedia bots. The size of a circle is proportional to the magnitude of change executed by the edit; larger circles are produced by larger edits.[3] The name of the article edited is displayed in the center of the circle. Clicking on the text opens a Wikipedia page in a new tab in the user's browser, showing the revision. A blue bar at the top of the screen will appear whenever a new Wikipedia user is registered, listing their username. At the bottom left corner, there is a bar showing the amount of edits per minute.

References edit

  1. ^ "Listen to Wikipedia". {{Hatnote}}. August 30, 2013. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  2. ^ "Listen to Wikipedia – Wikimedia blog". July 30, 2013. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Hashemi, Stephen LaPorte and Mahmoud. "Hatnote Listen to Wikipedia". listen.hatnote.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  4. ^ Wilson, Mark (August 23, 2013). "Listen To The Orchestra Of Users Updating Wikipedia". Fast Company. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  5. ^ "Listen To Wikipedia: Engineers Translate Edits Into Sound". NPR. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  6. ^ Seifert, Dan (August 9, 2013). "Fall asleep to the sound of Wikipedia". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.

External links edit

Listen to this article (2 minutes)
 
This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 18 September 2023 (2023-09-18), and does not reflect subsequent edits.