Wikipedia is Asking for Our Help
Do you use Wikipedia and its sister site Wikimedia? I know I do, especially since Kyle directs us to these sites for both providing us information for our websites and public domain images. Sometimes we take for granted services like Wikipedia which are free.
I recently went up on Wikipedia to do some niche research and was displayed a message asking for donations to save the Wiki sites. I was stunned that they rely totally on the donations of others to keep running and that they are now in need.
DID ANY OF YOU SEE THIS TOO?
I do not know if this was only displayed to users in the United States. It seems to be a one-time displayed message for help. Did I contribute? No, not yet, but I will donate a few dollars because I feel Wikipedia and Wikimedia to be great resources for niche research.
The image below is what was displayed on top of the information results I was searching for. This is the first time that I could remember that they have had to ask for money. But after reading their request I can now understand why they are asking.
In part, this is what it says...
"To all of our readers in the U.S.,
We will get straight to the point: This Thursday we ask you to defend Wikipedia's independence. Time is running out in 2018 to help us. To maintain our independence we will never run ads. We depend on donations averaging $16.36. Only a tiny portion of our readers give."
It then goes on to say that if everyone reading this message would donate only $3 that it could keep the Wiki sites going strong for years to come. Now I use the Wiki sites a lot. I even link to them in my website content, which helps with SEO by linking to an authority site.
I never realized that the company behind the Wiki sites is a Non-Profit. It provides knowledge in a way that is similar to WA's Open Education Project where the community has the ability to create training tutorials to benefit all members here. Near the end of the message it says,
"We do it in the pursuit of open knowledge that is always ad-free, never tracks your data, and is never sold off to corporate big-wigs." This statement also reminds me of what we all have here at WA. We are safe from any kinds of advertising, data tracking and selling.
Like WA, Wikipedia is a valuable resource of open knowledge. At the end it says an interesting stat. "When we made Wikipedia a non-profit, people warned us we'd regret it. Over a decade later, it's the only top ten site run by a non-profit and a community of dedicated volunteers."
That is pretty darn impressive for a non-profit website that provides a ton of free information for all of us to use. I am a big fan of the Wiki sites for both aiding in my content creation and providing me with an authority website to link to. Do you use Wikipedia? What are your thoughts?
Recent Comments
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Hi Rob, I have not really used Wikipedia before but plan to as I build up my content and do more reviews as an authoritive source. It would be a shame if it were not available. I was unaware it was a non-profit organisation run by volunteers and believe it deserves support.
Thank you for bringing this to light.
Cass
I like them because it is information, not someone's biased opinions and agenda based facts. Reminds me of our old internet service back in the 70's, World Book Encyclopedia. Just gave away my age. Ooops.
Mark
You are welcome Cass. Once you really start using the Wiki sites you will find a great source of information.
I like them for the same reasons Mark. And I too remember the days of encyclopedias and how I used them for many school reports. Yes, I am just as young as you.
Our internet back in the day was just a little more cumbersome and heavy. Would the card catalog qualify as our generation's Google? Hmm.
Mark
Thanks for sharing. I will look into this. I use it sometimes. I haven’t seen the ask but sure will donate.
Happy Holidays!
Ana
Yes, they run this campaign at the end of every year. And I donate every year. Even if it’s $5.
This is the first time I have seen this and I will now start donating a few dollars every year.
I too use Wikipedia and the associated sites and received that message. Last year I was able to make a donation and plan on doing it again after December. They are a good source of information for my (our) needs. I have heard others complain that what is put on their sites, should be closed to having anyone adding information to it without a proper vetting, so therefore, they do not trust or use them.
Folks, that's just opinions and frankly, for research there is plenty to learn and if that just does not fit your needs, then that's OK too.
Yes, I agree. I have heard some people say that about vetting the information but for the most part I have found the information they provide to be accurate.
Wow. I haven't received that message, but they truly need our help. I will donate.
How do we access the donate button?
Just go to their site https://www.wikipedia.org/ and click on the donation button in the box on the right of the screen.
Thank you for that answer. I was just looking for that button so I could make a donation too.
I sent them $5. I researched that they were non-profit, so yes I donated. I use them endlessly.
Mark
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It is not showing in Australia at the moment but I have seen that from time to time here... it is a funny one as Wikipedia is not seen as an authority in anything in have done in the past (academic study, govt work) but has obvious advantages to blogging.
I donated last time and will again when it reappears here.
I can see why some people/industries would not think of Wikipedia as an authority site, but like you said, it has great advantages to blogging. Practically every content marketing website I have seen will have links to Wikipedia and I do this on my website too.