Wikipedia is the world’s largest and most popular encyclopedia. It’s online and free to use for any purpose. It contains more than 20 million volunteer authored articles in over 282 languages, and is Sixth most visited site in the world.
But, Why doesn’t Wikipedia use ads for revenue?
Well, this question is answered by Jimmy Wales founder of Wikipedia few days back and that is how he framed it.
“Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn’t belong here. Not in Wikipedia.
Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others.
When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different. We’ve worked hard over the years to keep it lean and tight. We fulfill our mission, and leave waste to others. “
Acoording to Steven Walling (Wikipedian since 2006, 40k+ edits), “Accepting advertising would conflict with the goal of providing an encyclopedia that’s free of bias.“
And That’s how Wikipedia answered this Big question.
If we all donate just $20, Wikipedia would only have to fund-raise for one day a year. This year Google co-founder Sergey Brin donated $500,000 to Wikipedia. If you want to Donate Click here.
Can you imagine a day on Internet without Wikipedia?
