Computer Support Blog

Outside protecting business interests, there are remarkably few executives in the tech sector who make bold or frequent political statements.  In fact, the marketing gurus in the tech sector work very hard to make technology apolitical; the market should be everyone.  So, it is a rare thing when one’s personal politics overtly guide their corporate policy within the tech sector.  The fact that his loud dedication to free access to information clearly guides Wikipedia makes Jimmy Wales an exception to the status quo in the tech sector!

Jimmy Wales is the co-founder of Wikipedia and Wikia.  While he has many business interests, including the for-profit Wikia wiki-hosting service, Wales has been an outspoken proponent of free speech.  Strongly against government interference in the media, Jimmy Wales build Wikipedia, in part, on the belief that the Internet should be used to freely disseminate important information, like what one might find in an expensive encyclopedia.  The sheer popularity of Wikipedia illustrates that Wales and his co-founders tapped into something that is vital, but was missing from the Internet before.

After graduating from a Huntsville, Alabama prep school at age sixteen, Jimmy Wales attended Auburn University.  Wales graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Alabama.  Deeply committed to education, Jimmy Wales began his Doctorate work at Indiana University.  Before he completed his dissertation, though, he was lured into the world of big finance and he left Indiana for Chicago, IL.

In Chicago, Jimmy Wales went to work for Chicago Options Associates.  After two years of making money speculating on currency fluctuations, Wales decided to turn his attention to what he was truly passionate about: the Internet and online role playing games.  His first venture was a male-oriented search engine designed to capitalize on the Internet’s growing archives of adult-themed imagery and movies.  While Bomis, as the site was known, ultimately failed, it did provide Wales with enough money to start his next project, an Internet-based encyclopedia!

In March 2000, Jimmy Wales and his friend Larry Sanger launched Nupedia.  Nupedia had much of the same functions as Wikipedia would have: it was a free, peer-reviewed, Internet encyclopedia intended to become a repository of an extensive range of information.  Nupedia was slow to start because the peer-review process – whereby experts in a given field upon which a topic was being written – was exceptionally slow and many experts in the field were not engaged by the project.

What followed was Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia for which anyone could write.  Wikipedia launched while Nupedia was still online, but within days, Wikipedia had more content than the original online encyclopedia attempt.  Wales ran with that and soon founded Wikia in order to foster the growth of other wiki-based sites, for profit.

Jimmy Wales continues to fight for free speech on the Internet, which keeps him very active, especially on the lecture circuit.  With the success of Wikipedia, one has to wonder what frontier for free speech Wales will next pioneer!

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

1-800-737-2837

CEO@rescuecom.com

Filed under: business, david milman, Internet, networks, news, online resources, performance, rescuecom