Of late we have seen how a picture of Jimmy Wales appears on Wikipedia requesting people to donate money for site. But it certainly came as a surprise to me when one Chinese newspaper had a huge picture of the wikipedia founder appealing to the readers on behalf of Maurice Lacroix (A Swiss watch brand) to contribute and that is when I realized that the need was so desperate, though they regularly have these fund raising seasons. The reason why they need money so desperately is, of course, the fact that it is free for all. But we need to consider the fact that operating costs for the year 2010-11 are expected to be somewhere in the range of $20 million!! And from what I have read recently they need $16 million at this stage to remain free.
We have become so used to getting information for free on the net that we have never really given a thought to the fact that someone else is paying for it. What if suddenly from tomorrow wikipedia becomes a paid site? (Thank god I am done with all my college assignments!). But it was nice to hear that last year it did garner donations worth $8 million and hopefully it will continue to do so.
This reminds me of one news that I read recently about a gang in Delhi who are using a picture of Jimmy Wales to extract money from people!! We have seen how beggars show gods’ images and ask for money and we in the name of god tend to give some. But now these same beggars are using Jimmy Wales's picture to earn money. One MBA student in Delhi was feeling proud when she donated Rs.50 to a beggar thinking that it will lessen her guilt for having used wikipedia for all her academic work without ever paying a single penny. But obviously she got the shock of her life when she found out that the nine year old kid at the traffic signal wasn’t on the payroll of Wikipedia! As far as the beggars are concerned they are having a great time as someone who would just give Re.1 on seeing a beggar with a god's image in his hand, is now giving Rs.50 in the name of Jimmy Wales!! Talk about increase in revenue overnight, this gang of beggars beats any corporate hands down!! The funniest part about this whole episode is the fact that police says it won’t be able to take any action on this matter unless there is a written complaint from Jimmy Wales!! I have no idea how much money would have been raised by thee beggars as of now that will certainly not find its way to the Wikimedia Foundation. Jimmy Wales must be wishing he had not used his picture for this!
We have become so used to getting information for free on the net that we have never really given a thought to the fact that someone else is paying for it. What if suddenly from tomorrow wikipedia becomes a paid site? (Thank god I am done with all my college assignments!). But it was nice to hear that last year it did garner donations worth $8 million and hopefully it will continue to do so.
This reminds me of one news that I read recently about a gang in Delhi who are using a picture of Jimmy Wales to extract money from people!! We have seen how beggars show gods’ images and ask for money and we in the name of god tend to give some. But now these same beggars are using Jimmy Wales's picture to earn money. One MBA student in Delhi was feeling proud when she donated Rs.50 to a beggar thinking that it will lessen her guilt for having used wikipedia for all her academic work without ever paying a single penny. But obviously she got the shock of her life when she found out that the nine year old kid at the traffic signal wasn’t on the payroll of Wikipedia! As far as the beggars are concerned they are having a great time as someone who would just give Re.1 on seeing a beggar with a god's image in his hand, is now giving Rs.50 in the name of Jimmy Wales!! Talk about increase in revenue overnight, this gang of beggars beats any corporate hands down!! The funniest part about this whole episode is the fact that police says it won’t be able to take any action on this matter unless there is a written complaint from Jimmy Wales!! I have no idea how much money would have been raised by thee beggars as of now that will certainly not find its way to the Wikimedia Foundation. Jimmy Wales must be wishing he had not used his picture for this!
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