Should Wikipedia Sell Advertising? 317
The Narrative Fallacy writes "The LA Times has an interesting story on the state of Wikipedia's finances and how with 300 million page views a day, the organization could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars if it sold advertising space. Without advertising the foundation has a tough time raising its annual budget of $4.6 million. The 45,000 or so individuals who contribute annually give an average of $33 each, so campaigns, which are conducted online, raise only about one-third of what's needed. As Wikimedia adds features to its pages, such as videos, costs will rise. 'Without financial stability and strong planning, the foundation runs the risk of needing to take drastic steps at some point in the next couple years,' said Nathan Awrich, a Wikipedia editor who supports advertising."
Re:Prepare yourself (Score:5, Informative)
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Planned_Spending_Distribution_2007-2008 [wikimediafoundation.org]
Not sure what happened to the 2006 one.
Re:Google is good (Score:4, Informative)
And Google Ads hardly gives Google control over your servers.
Re:My sympathy is limited (Score:3, Informative)
Re:My sympathy is limited (Score:5, Informative)
Re:obviously they should sell advertising (Score:3, Informative)
It wouldn't make as much as selling banner spots to the highest bidder etc. that's for sure. But it would probably generate enough to pay the bills which is what really matters.
Re:Prepare yourself (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I've got a better idea (Score:3, Informative)