Kul Takanao Wadhwa HYPERLINK "mailto:foundation-l%40lists.wikimedia.org?Subject=%5BFoundation-l%5D%20Fund raising%20%26%20Networking%20updates&In-Reply-To=6hfmtm%242mbrsq%40smtp06.sy d.iprimus.net.au"kwadhwa at wikimedia.org

Wed Jan 23 20:50:27 UTC 2008

Simon,

There are a lot of issues we need to examine here (including carefully analyzing what we have doing up to this point) but I appreciate the input. Believe me, we are going to take a look and investigate all the possibilities here. Please keep the comments coming...thanks.

--Kul

...

...

Analyzing? I imagine that’s an understatement. Congrats to you and Jay.

I wish I was a fly on the wall, the possibilities being so endless. I can imagine it’s a very different culture from where you’ve come from; the idea of this well attended feedback thread being a revelation for most non profits. The transparency is great, but all subjects on one thread is insane, and impossible to follow for us slow learners, as I’ve said earlier (if you could find it). HYPERLINK "http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2008-January/038027.html" http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2008-January/038027.html I’ve just been wrapped on the knuckles for not keeping up.

So in the interests of keeping Transparency with a big T and saving our eyes, could I ask that you set up a forum on wikback. I know it’s new but so are you, I and Jay. It would be nice to take a methodical approach and save answering the same questions about the issues. Could I also ask that yo might set up a page (say Revenue opportunities) on meta and link directly to the thread where discussion about its subjective issues takes place. I think you’ll find if we use this model then its utility will begin to be seen across the wikiuniverse, and conjure a new revenue stream which may be acceptable to the WMF’s global communities.

The main point is that we now have to deal with global groups and share their learning in real time as opposed to making decisions internally in a head office and expecting everyone to suddenly change their behaviour when an announcement is made. E.g, I feel for Erik when all he’s trying to do is get video into the wiki media mix, and the purists want to flog him as much as they do themselves. It’s the journey not the arrival, although in monetary terms taking this approach may speed things up.

I take it you’ve gone through the obvious things like “powered by xxx” on every page, etc. But if we could go through the possibilities in an orderly fashion in a forum, at least we won’t have to explain why a decision has been made. In general terms of course; we all know the inexperienced won’t appreciate (or want to know) the finer points of building personal relationships.

The main issue, so far as I can see (as I’ve said on that link above), is to decide whether Foundation members prefer to take money from the public purse or private purses. Each requires a very different strategy and will have different outcomes. But this is not the place for discussion, so let me wish you all the best and go now. Regards, simon

No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.10/1241 - Release Date: 24/01/2008 9:58 AM