I didn’t know I had badges coming. I didn’t know I had even earned any. All I can remember is that I gave a few dollars here and there because Jimmy had asked me to donate.
This morning Jimmy sent me an email with these badges and another request to donate. The subject line was catchy: “We’ve had enough.” He went on to more or less explain what he meant by the subject line. He said he and his team were tired of the pressure they constantly receive to “compromise” the “neutrality” of Wikipedia’s content by selling ads. They also don’t like it when it’s suggested they capture and monetize users’ personal data.
Having made those statements, Jimmy went on with the pitch: “We simply ask loyal readers like you for a helping hand. Not often, but it works! So after 20 years of saying no, I can still say that you are our best option.”
“Loyal” readers! Well, he got me there. I love Wikipedia. And I loved it even before I started learning about Open Educational Resources (OER). It just felt right to have a space without advertisements (except Jimmy’s occasional “ask” that gets unobtrusively posted in the top corner of a wiki page). I liked that I had the power to edit when I felt something wasn’t right (and I have exercised that right a handful of times through the years).
In his email, Jimmy asks us to give what we can. He then shares that “only 2% of our readers give, but we manage to serve hundreds of millions of people per month.” He then asks us to “imagine if everyone gave.”
Jimmy believes we could “transform the way knowledge is shared online” if everyone who uses Wikipedia could donate a few dollars. “We rely on our readers to become our donors, and it’s worked for 20 years,” confirms Jimmy. “This year, please consider making another donation to protect and sustain Wikipedia.”
All of us can help Jimmy out and give a few dollars to support this ultimate OER. I did. You may even get a badge in the mail from Jimmy!
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FOR FURTHER READING: Wikipedia is called “the ultimate open education resource” in a blog post by Cassidy Villeneuve who writes for https://wikiedu.org/. She makes Jimmy’s case for Wikipedia by stating:
Wikipedia is one of the most important resources for public education in the world. It’s free, openly licensed, and available to anyone who has internet access worldwide. No ads, no collecting or selling of personal data, and no fake news.
#intro2opened