Welcome BACK to the Internet History Podcast. After essentially a 5 year hiatus, the Internet History Podcast is back, fully back, a whole slate of episodes coming to you, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have our relaunch episode be with Jimmy Wales. What can I tell you? He’s the founder of Wikipedia. We get deep into the history of all that but also get into how he’s thinking about the web and Wikipedia in this age of AI.

Chapters

00:00 The Return of the Internet History Podcast

00:58 Exploring Trust in the Digital Age

04:09 Growing Up with Knowledge

11:53 The Journey into Technology and Finance

16:58 The First Encounters with the Internet

18:38 The Spark of Entrepreneurship

20:09 The Birth of Bomis and New Ideas

27:13 The Transition from Newpedia to Wikipedia

31:57 Navigating Challenges and Building Trust

42:25 Moments of Realization and Trust in Wikipedia

48:05 From Startup to Nonprofit: A New Direction

51:17 Lessons in Nonprofit Fundraising

53:02 Transparency and Community Engagement

01:00:21 Wikipedia in the Age of AI

01:07:29 The Future of the Open Web

01:08:58 Defining Purpose in Knowledge Platforms

01:12:05 Building Trust in Personal and Political Life

Takeaways

Wikipedia's growth was fueled by community engagement and open editing.

Trust is essential for the success of any platform.

The transition from Newpedia to Wikipedia was a pivotal moment.

Transparency in operations fosters community trust.

AI's impact on knowledge sharing is significant but manageable.

Defining a clear purpose helps in moderating content.

Wikipedia's model demonstrates the power of decentralized knowledge.

The importance of assuming good faith in online interactions.

Nonprofit status allows for a focus on mission over profit.

Building trust in personal and political life is crucial for society.

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