The cafeteria at Calhan High School, Calhan, Colorado, March 2008
(found on Cafeteria)

It’s winter in the northern hemisphere and it’s the time of year when people fall in love.  I want to assure any Wikipedia editors reading this–*cough*Pete*cough*–that I support you in your romantic endeavors, and I offer the perfect suggestion to get the love fires burning:  a romantic day trip in a small town.  Take a two hour drive to some small place you’ve never been, and make sure it has at least a cafe for an early dinner.  Go with your boyfriend or girlfriend for the day and explore the area on foot, then grab dinner before a music-filled ride back to romance.  Or stay at a bed and breakfast and make it an overnight trip.

But whatever you do, please take your camera.  Wikipedia’s small town articles currently suffer for their lack of images, and as a result, so does Wikipedia.  Allow me to demonstrate, lovebirds:

Back in March I spoke about Wikipedia to a high school senior English class in Calhan, Colorado.  I went around the town and photographed it.  Living in New York, I drive perhaps once every two years, so I used the opportunity to take pictures of the towns that dotted my road trip out to the school, including Peyton and Falcon.

The Calhan, Colorado article was nothing special, like the zillions of other small town articles on Wikipedia that are full of census bureau data and geological survey information.  Very few small town articles come alive, unless, like population 4,000 Barrow, Alaska, a proud local edits Wikipedia (or you’re the setting for horror comic books).

That was not the case with population 1,000 Calhan, Colorado.  The article back in March was bland.  The article hits evidenced that:

Town of Calhan, Colorado – February 2008 article hits – 263

On March 21st I uploaded the photographs to the page.  Take a look at the dramatic jump:

You might wonder if that was a temporary jump.  But over April and May the article went from an average of 250 hits a month, to an average of over 800 hits a month:

Perhaps temporary?  The only thing that changed in the article was the addition of images.  Since that time, the article has not fallen below an average of 800 hits per month.  Here is November:

Town of Calhan, Colorado – November 2008 article hits – 810

Photography makes a dramatic difference in readership, and there are many places on Wikipedia that are overlooked for imagery.  Such as small towns that would make the perfect romantic day trip for a couple.  Use it as an excuse for a date.  Take a picture of that cafe, and put it up on that town’s Wikipedia page.  Maybe some day the two of you will tell your kids about it.

Fall in love…and take your camera.

(found on Peyton, Colorado)

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