My personality revolves around Wikimedia, much to the irritation of those who are unlucky enough to know me — having gone from a long-term volunteer to a paid member of staff is awesome and literally my dream job.
But that’s not really right, is it?
I’ve not gone from being a volunteer to being a member of staff — I’m still every bit the volunteer I was… The only thing which has really changed is that I am paid to develop features and tools which were voted for in the Community Wishlist Survey.
I expected stepping into this dual-role to come with some community oddities, but so far this has been limited to being a tiny bit more careful with what I say, and to whom I say it. I do try to weigh this against being “true to myself” as a very open person, and as a Wikimedian.
Prior to working for the Foundation, I tried to be transparent with how I operated, and this is something I’ve continued in my new role (and have encouraged my team to begin to embrace too!). Even in “behind the scenes” roles like software development, we’re well positioned to catalyse discussions and represent the community, and as Wikimedians we should do that where possible.
I think there’s more to write here, but I’m trying to get something down…
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