# Listen to Wikipedia > real-time visualization and sonification of Wikipedia activity **Wikidata**: [Q16657492](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16657492) **Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listen_to_Wikipedia) **Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/listen-to-wikipedia ## Summary Listen to Wikipedia is a project that provides a real-time visualization and sonification of activity on Wikipedia. It translates ongoing edits and other changes across the platform into an auditory and visual experience, allowing users to perceive the dynamic nature of Wikipedia's content. ## Key Facts * Listen to Wikipedia was created by Mahmoud Hashemi and Stephen LaPorte. * It is an instance of open-source software, a website, visualization, and sonification. * The project is licensed under the 3-clause BSD License. * It runs on the iOS mobile operating system, with an app store ID of 832934300. * Listen to Wikipedia received the Coolest Tool Award/2020. * Its official website is listen.hatnote.com. * The project is based on BitListen. * Its source code is available on GitHub at https://github.com/hatnote/listen-to-wikipedia. * It has a Wikipedia title in multiple languages including English, Japanese, and Korean. ## FAQs ### Q: What is Listen to Wikipedia? A: Listen to Wikipedia is a project that provides a real-time visualization and sonification of activity on Wikipedia. It translates edits and other changes on the platform into an auditory and visual experience, allowing users to perceive the ongoing modifications. ### Q: Who created Listen to Wikipedia? A: Listen to Wikipedia was created by Mahmoud Hashemi and Stephen LaPorte. They developed the project to offer a unique perspective on Wikipedia's live data. ### Q: What platforms does Listen to Wikipedia run on? A: Listen to Wikipedia runs on the iOS mobile operating system and is also accessible as a website. Its iOS app can be found using the app store ID 832934300. ### Q: Is Listen to Wikipedia open-source? A: Yes, Listen to Wikipedia is classified as open-source software. It is licensed under the 3-clause BSD License, and its source code is publicly available on GitHub. ### Q: Has Listen to Wikipedia received any awards? A: Yes, Listen to Wikipedia received the Coolest Tool Award/2020. This award recognizes its innovative approach to presenting Wikipedia activity. ## Why It Matters Listen to Wikipedia matters because it offers a unique and accessible way to understand the immense, continuous activity on one of the world's largest collaborative knowledge bases. By employing sonification—the use of sounds to convey information—it transforms abstract data (edits, new articles, user activity) into an engaging sensory experience. This innovative approach makes the otherwise invisible, real-time global collaboration behind Wikipedia tangible and immediate. It highlights the dynamic, ever-evolving nature of information and the collective effort involved in its creation and maintenance. As an open-source project, it also serves as an example of how data visualization and sonification can be used to make complex datasets more comprehensible and even artistic, fostering a deeper appreciation for the digital commons. ## Notable For * Providing a real-time sonification and visualization of Wikipedia activity, translating edits into audible events. * Being an open-source software project, with its code publicly available under the 3-clause BSD License. * Receiving the Coolest Tool Award/2020, recognizing its innovative approach to data representation. * Its specific creators, Mahmoud Hashemi and Stephen LaPorte, for developing this unique interactive experience. * Being based on BitListen, adapting a concept from cryptocurrency activity to Wikipedia. ## Body ### Overview Listen to Wikipedia is a project that offers a real-time visualization and sonification of activity occurring on Wikipedia. It is categorized as open-source software, a website, a form of visualization, and an instance of sonification. Its primary function is to convert the continuous stream of Wikipedia edits and other changes into an interactive auditory and visual display. ### Development and Licensing Listen to Wikipedia was created by Mahmoud Hashemi and Stephen LaPorte. The project is open-source and operates under the 3-clause BSD License. Its source code repository is publicly available on GitHub at https://github.com/hatnote/listen-to-wikipedia. The project is based on BitListen. ### Platform and Access The project is accessible as a website via http://listen.hatnote.com. Additionally, it runs on the iOS mobile operating system, with its application identifiable by the app store ID 832934300. ### Awards and Recognition Listen to Wikipedia received the Coolest Tool Award/2020, acknowledging its innovative contribution. ### Related Concepts Listen to Wikipedia is an application of sonification, which is defined as the use of sounds other than speech to convey information. ### Identifiers and Resources * **Aliases**: L2W, listen.hatnote.com * **Website**: http://listen.hatnote.com * **Source Code Repository**: https://github.com/hatnote/listen-to-wikipedia * **App Store ID**: 832934300 * **Wikipedia Title**: Listen to Wikipedia * **Commons Category**: Listen to Wikipedia * **Google Knowledge Graph ID**: /g/11bzsnywcb * **Spoken Text Audio**: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/English_narration_of_the_Listen_to_Wikipedia_article_on_Wikipedia.ogg (English, 2023) * **Wikipedia Languages**: commons, cs, en, eo, it, ja, ko, pt, vi * **Copyright Status**: copyrighted ## References 1. [Source](https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Coolest_Tool_Award/2020) 2. [Source](https://github.com/hatnote/listen-to-wikipedia/blob/master/LICENSE) 3. [Source](https://api.github.com/repos/hatnote/listen-to-wikipedia)