Meet Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
He has a Wikipedia entry about himself. But that shouldn’t be surprising — he’s the co-founder and current “de facto leader” of the Wikimedia Foundation. Born in Huntsville, Ala., Jimmy “Jimbo” Wales is a captain of the Internet industry. His youthful ambitions to earn his first million before the age of 40 led him to a short-lived career trading options in Chicago after graduating with a master’s degree in finance from the University of Alabama. He soon moved onto other endeavors that would form the foundation for his Web domination.
His first project, which he called a “guy-oriented...
thekohser, you do realize your statement there is self-defeating, right? :)
Regarding "It essentially said that you’re an anti-altruist. How do you explain that? It seems counter-intuitive, because Wikipedia is all about free knowledge for all, which seems like an altruistic pursuit."
This seeming paradox can be resolved by digging into the very early history of Wikipedia. It was originally going to be an advertising-supported site, and only became a non-profit when it appeared it would never amount to anything (really!). My column below examines these issues:
"Wikipedia isn't about human potential, whatever Jimmy Wales says"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/sep/25/wikipedia.internet
Whatever. I'd gladly have my public reputation over Jimbo's. Have you seen his new calling card?
Would have liked to see his thoughts on the recent studies that show the overwhelming dominance of male editors.
The inventor of the World Wide Web is spelled "Tim Berners-Lee", not "Tim Burners Lee". Maybe the transcriber of this interview should have consulted Wikipedia ;-)
I'm sure that Condé Nast will be delighted to learn that it operates a magazine with unsure credibility and borderline reliability.
Jimbo's become a caricature of himself.
Anything he purports about his projects is supposed to be absorbed by all as Truth. Anything a critic purports about him or his projects is belittled as "trolling" or the work of an "idiot".