Kelly Martin wrote:
On 5/28/06, Ray Saintonge saintonge@telus.net wrote:
Proximity for whom and to whom? We are an online organization with a global perspective. We depend on online communications. Wherever the headquarters happens to be will involve travel by some people if they want to meet in person. If all you're trying to do is improve meetup opportunities for the select few you just end up promoting the idea that Wikimedia is a much less broadly based organization than it really is.
There's a limit to how much you can schmooze people online. Large donations and grants are going to require face time. Might as well position yourself to make arranging that easier, which means you want to be near a transportation hub. This means places like New York, DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles. Hubs have more flights per day to more destinations, which usually means your total travel time is lower because your options are broader and you are less likely to have to use a connecting flight.
Geez very Americancentric. what happened to: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Moscow, Prague, Wien, Geneve, Zurich, Milan, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Istanbul, Delhi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Peking, Tokyo, Jakarta, Sidney, Johannesburg, Capetown, Nairobi, Dakar, Lagos, Cairo, Cassablanca, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Kuwait, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, Caracas, Buenos Aires, Lima and last but not least Paramaribo? (sorry if I forgot any city these are out of the top of my head)
All of these are transport hubs with flights all over the world with multinational headquarters and ngo organization offices and headquarters etc. The last time I checked the world didn't revolve around the US.
Waerth/Walter