One of the most fascinating and at the same time scary aspects of the internet is that anyone can add an contribute content to it. Well, the same lies true for the ever so popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Not to be alarmed, Wikipedia has set in place the proper measures to ensure that the contributed content meets the standards of the site.
Wikipedia has online training in place to give contributors and editors the tools the need to ensure accurate insightful content is added to their site. Through a course of tutorials you can stand confident in your approach to editing and creating. As Wikipedia states, the main thing is to just dive in and “be bold.”
In searching for an article to edit and contribute to, I wanted to stay true to my semester long blogging topic of sports betting. Wikipedia indeed had a page for sports betting that, in my opinion, could have used some contributions. Having my article selected, it was time to begin the editing process.
I started my contribution process by highlighting the edits that I wished to make into the articles “talk page”. 
This was my first declaration to the talk page that I intended to reference the existing mention of political election betting with a reference to an article from OddsShark as the previous statement was not referenced. Under the “Sports Betting” section the section ends with discussing previous betting scandals referencing proven cheating ex NBA official Tim Donaghy. I added that proponents of legalization argue that with legalization the chances of future betting scandals are actually minimized due to the fact that regulated sports books and a thriving free market are the biggest watchdogs of foul play, citing an article from USA Today. 
Next, under the “Type of Bets” section of the article I proposed to add Team Totals to the existing Totals (Over/Under) section. I also requested to add Player Propositions as a wager type under the existing Proposition Bets section. Under the existing In Play Betting heading, I proposed to add the synonym Live Betting. All of these “type of bets” were referenced with respective articles from OddsShark that describe the bet option. 
I waited a full day to hear back from any other Wiki editors with no luck. In hindsight I wish I would have heeded the modules instructions to start the talk group process early to allow ample time for responses. Never the less, twenty four hours later no fellow editors had chimed in and I began my edits.
Getting into the edits, it really was a simple process as Wikipedia said it would be. The platform they have set up is extremely user friendly and the interface provides direction and suggestions for best practices such as including a recap of your edits for other contributors to asses. The best approach to becoming a successful editor is to start with the provided training. Also, editors should take advantage of the talk pages and reach out to other more experienced wiki editors as the platform does a great job of facilitating peer editing.
Once my edits were published, I had a sense of pride for contributing to this article. Sure it’s sports betting, just how important is this wiki article. Well, to me it is, and contributing to it was rewarding. The legalization of sports betting has only recently been available to every state as of May 2018. Since this is such a new market, I believe that early contributions to this article are a great base or framework as I can only see this article evolving more and more alongside the evolving sports betting market.
Overall, this was a very satisfying project. Initially watching the wiki tutorials, it seemed kind of corny when they were indicating that when you contribute you are helping to shape the site and even the world. Presently I can definitely relate with this sentiment. After finishing my edits, I concluded that I will most likely continue to contribute to Wikipedia. The essential skills and core concepts of contributing to wiki does not only add to the platform but actually helps us as students in our pursuit to become more and more digitally literate.
Francisco Healy
