UC Berkeley Regents' Lecture: Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia Founder December 5, 2009

"Welcome to the New World", Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia

Mr. Wales discusses the history and impact of Wikipedia globally, as well as current trends on the Internet and his work at Wikia.

Jimmy Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known for founding the Wikimedia Foundation, the charity which operates Wikipedia.org, and the company Wikia, Inc., which operates Wikia.com.

Wales received his Bachelor's degree in finance from Auburn University and his Master's in finance from University of Alabama. He was appointed a fellow of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School in 2005 and in 2006, he joined the Board of Directors of the non-profit organization Creative Commons.

In January of 2001, Wales started Wikipedia.org, the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit and today Wikipedia and its sister projects are among the top-five most visited sites on the web (comScore, January 2009). In mid-2003, Wales set up the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization to support Wikipedia.org. The Foundation, now based in downtown San Francisco, has a staff of close to thirty focusing on fundraising, technology, and programming relating to the expansion of Wikipedia. Wales now sits on the board of trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, and as founder continues to act as a key spokesperson.

In 2004, Wales co-founded Wikia, Inc., a for-profit company that enables groups of people to share information and opinions that fall outside the scope of an encyclopedia.

In 2007, The World Economic Forum recognized Wales as one of the "Young Global Leaders." In addition, Wales received the "Time 100 Award" in 2006, as he was named one of the world's most influential people in the "Scientists & Thinkers" category.

Mr. Wales' UC Regents Lecture is presented by the UC Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM).

Official Website: http://bcnm.berkeley.edu