Wikipedia

"Knowledge is power." 

– Sir Francis Bacon, Meditationes Sacræ. De Hæresibus. (1597)
English author, courtier, & philosopher (1561 - 1626)

Like many people, I use Wikipedia frequently for innumerable things. I often use it when I need instant information on various stones or materials that I use in my jewellery, which means that Wikipedia helps me to earn a living. With that in mind, I made a donation to the Wikimedia Foundation this year during their annual appeal. It wasn't much, but it's a start. Below is the thank-you E-mail I received in response.

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Dear Emma,

Thank you for your gift [...] to the Wikimedia Foundation, received on December 8, 2010. I’m very grateful for your support.

Your donation celebrates everything Wikipedia and its sister sites stand for: the power of information to help people live better lives, and the importance of sharing, freedom, learning and discovery. Thank you so much for helping to keep these projects freely available for their more than 400 million monthly readers around the world.

Your money supports technology and people. The Wikimedia Foundation develops and improves the technology behind Wikipedia and nine other projects, and sustains the infrastructure that keeps them up and running. The Foundation has a staff of about fifty, which provides technical, administrative, legal and outreach support for the global community of volunteers who write and edit Wikipedia.

Many people love Wikipedia, but a surprising number don't know it's run by a non-profit. Please help us spread the word by telling a few of your friends.

And again, thank you for supporting free knowledge.

Sincerely Yours,

Sue Gardner

Executive Director

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I am immensely grateful to the people who created Wikipedia, and who run, edit, and support it. To me, Wikipedia represents everything that the Internet should be about: 'sharing, freedom, learning and discovery'. The existence of Wikipedia alone justifies the invention of the Internet. It may not be perfect, but for the first time in human history we have a way of sharing reliable information about anything which is freely available to anyone.
Knowledge is power, and Wikipedia offers free knowledge. No strings attached.
I don't think the value of that can be overestimated.

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