[Foundation-l] Omidyar Network Commits $2 Million Grant to Wikimedia Foundation

[Gregory Kohs]

Omidyar Network Commits $2 Million Grant to Wikimedia Foundation


+++++++

Ah, yes... the other shoe drops.  This is similar to the time when Amazon
invested $10 million in Wikia, Inc., but they insisted on installing Jeffrey
Blackburn from Amazon (
http://www.muckety.com/Query?SearchResult=30740&SearchResult=97356&graph=MucketyMap?_r=2D)
onto the Wikia board of directors.  You don't want to throw $10
million at
something without having someone on the "inside" to pull a few strings.

Thus, we see why Halprin now sits on the WMF board.  It's to keep an eye on
the $2 million.  And all "transparently" announced on the very same day!
Bonus that Halprin also probably oversees the part of the $4 million that
Omidyar invested in Wikia, whose co-founder (Jimmy Wales) might be sitting
next to Halprin at the next board meeting, or whose OTHER co-founder (Angela
Beesley) might be found "advising" the WMF board from the position of chair
of the WMF Advisory Board.

If you're having trouble envisioning a Venn diagram of this arrangement, let
me try to help you.  Imagine a few grains of rice (Jimbo and the WMF
board).  Then imagine the color white (Halprin).  Imagine some tasty
flavored sauce (Beesley).  Then visualize a guy lining up the yummy rice on
his fork (Omidyar Network).

-- 
Gregory Kohs