Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-08-28/Traffic report

The debt that Wikipedia owes sites like Reddit or Google often goes unacknowledged around here. If the purpose of Wikipedia is to bring knowledge to the world, then it is sites like these that are actually doing it. Whenever a great artist, scientist or humanitarian suddenly becomes an object of public interest, you can bet a Google Doodle was responsible; whenever an obscure event, individual or idea suddenly rises in public awareness, you can bet a thread on Reddit is the reason why. This week saw three such articles in the top 25 (and two in the top 10); the highest since the monitoring project was begun at the year's start. It might raise the issue of how we actually promote our content to our readers.

For a list of the top 25 articles, including exclusions, see: WP:TOP25

For the week of August 18 – 24, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most trafficked pages* were:


 * {| class="wikitable"

! Rank ! Article ! Class ! Views ! Image ! Notes
 * 1
 * Lee Thompson Young
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"| 709,809
 * The tragic suicide of this young, up-and-coming actor (he was 29) and star of Friday Night Lights and The Famous Jett Jackson unsurprisingly became the prime talking point of the week.
 * 2
 * Facebook
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 675,478
 * Ad-tech London 2010 (5).JPG
 * A perennially popular article
 * 3
 * Claude Debussy
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"| 619,684
 * Claude Debussy ca 1908, foto av Félix Nadar.jpg
 * With the possible exception of suicide, nothing guarantees a high Wikipedia view count like an interactive Google Doodle, and this French composer of "Oh yeah, that!" classical pieces like Clair de Lune got one for his 151st birthday on August 22.
 * 4
 * Breaking Bad
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|	547,047
 * Breaking Bad logo.svg
 * The final season of this acclaimed chemistry teacher-turned-Scarface TV series began on August 11.
 * 5
 * Chennai Express
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|531,746
 * This Bollywood action-romance has broken records at the Indian box office, becoming the first film to make Indian Rupee symbol.svg billion ($16.3 million) in four days.
 * 6
 * I Am Rich
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 447,963
 * A $1000 iPhone app that did nothing except remind its users that they could afford it stimulated a discussion on Reddit this week.
 * 7
 * Pseudofolliculitis barbae
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"| 397,403
 * Pseudofolliculitis Barbae.jpg
 * Another Reddit discussion was stimulated by this skin affliction, commonly referred to as "shave bumps", because Domino's Pizza was declared in violation of the 1991 Civil Rights Act when it demanded its male employees be clean-shaven, even though roughly a quarter of African Americans are unable to shave without incurring it.
 * 8
 * Deaths in 2013
 * List
 * align="right"|389,605
 * Skullclose.jpg
 * The list of deaths in the current year is always quite a popular article.
 * 9
 * List of Bollywood films of 2013
 * List
 * align="right"|376,515
 * Deepika endorses Yamaha scooters 02.jpg
 * An established staple of the top 10.
 * 10
 * The Conjuring (film)
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"| 371,391
 * James Wan's latest ghost story (reportedly based on true events, take that as you will) stormed the US, taking $70 million in its first week, and is now closing in on $200 million worldwide.
 * }
 * 9
 * List of Bollywood films of 2013
 * List
 * align="right"|376,515
 * Deepika endorses Yamaha scooters 02.jpg
 * An established staple of the top 10.
 * 10
 * The Conjuring (film)
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"| 371,391
 * James Wan's latest ghost story (reportedly based on true events, take that as you will) stormed the US, taking $70 million in its first week, and is now closing in on $200 million worldwide.
 * }
 * James Wan's latest ghost story (reportedly based on true events, take that as you will) stormed the US, taking $70 million in its first week, and is now closing in on $200 million worldwide.
 * }