[Foundation-l] Wikimedia main office

[Michael Davis]

I'm not aware of any plans that call for massive hiring in a central 
office.  Most office hiring will be for routine administrative/clerical 
functions which will be much cheaper outside of a major metropolitan 
areas.  Flights from St. Petersburg to NYC or DC are $200 round trip and 
are easy day trips.  International flights are more difficult but that 
hasn't slowed down Jimbo.  Given that the Foundations pays $400 per 
month for office space, it's a whole lot cheaper to fly back and forth a 
few time a month than lease office space in Manhattan.

Our strength is that we are a virtual organization and that isn't going 
to change.

Michael

Erik Zachte wrote:
> Mav wrote:
>
> quote
>
> "...But, IMO, we should seriously consider a better place for the Wikimedia
> main office before hiring lots of people. St Pete is fine as a tourist
> destination and maybe even as a satellite office of the foundation given
> that two board members and Danny live there, but the host city of the main
> office of an international organization? Sorry, but no.
>
> Washington D.C. or NYC are places where almost every nation of world sends
> their ambassadors and where a multitude of other international
> organizations, which we really should be working closely with, are based.
> Talent pool is another consideration; many more people with the relevant
> experience we need already live in those cities."
>
> ---
>
> As on several earlier occasions I disagree with Mav on how Wikimedia money
> would be best spent. Washington D.C. or NYC are very expensive cities.
> Besides, those are cities with heavily political connotations. Of course
> there is no such thing as a political neutral location. Maybe St Petersburg
> USA comes close, not sure ;)
>
> We might show the world that we still do things differently, not per se, but
> when there is a good reason for it. We might do something substantial for
> the underdeveloped world by placing our head office in e.g. Africa or India.
> Wikimedia involvement in many underdeveloped countries is still largely
> lagging behind. We might reach out and make a powerful gesture of good faith
> in the potential of those parts of the world.
>
> To name just one example: Nairobi would be a capable host city. Even the UN
> has a head office there. Running an office in Africa or India would be much
> cheaper. In a web-connected world travel times and costs are no longer very
> strong arguments against this.
>
> Erik Zachte
>
>
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