Topic: Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has launched WT.Social, a social network intended to compete with Facebook without selling user data. However, the site currently requires a monthly subscription fee of $12.99 or a $100 annual payment for immediate access, placing users on a long waiting list otherwise. The lack of a "free taste" or visible timeline is criticized as a poor business strategy.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales launched Wikitribune, a news service intended to combat fake news through factual and neutral reporting. The hosts express skepticism about the project's ability to remain truly neutral, suggesting that the platform's collaborative nature may lead to inherent biases. They characterize the initiative as a rebranding of existing Wikipedia news efforts.

Google demonstrated new "enhanced search" capabilities in a New York City townhouse, showing how the technology understands real-world entities like Barack Obama and the Eiffel Tower. Meanwhile, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is criticized for allegedly tracking editors on the Snowden talk page. The hosts mock the "Smart Home" concept as a way for corporations to collect more metadata on private lives.

Anatoly Nechayev from Russia is knighted for his contributions to the show. The hosts discuss inaccuracies on Wikipedia regarding birth dates and ages, noting that the platform often requires manual updates for simple chronological data. A humorous suggestion is made to edit the Wikipedia entry to reflect a much younger age.

The discussion expands to the Sunlight Foundation, noting its funding from tech figures like Craig Newmark and Jimmy Wales. The hosts express skepticism toward "transparency" organizations, suggesting they are partisan entities that serve specific political agendas while appearing to be neutral watchdogs.

The hosts analyze Jimmy Wales' fundraising tactics for Wikipedia, noting that banners featuring his face reportedly outperformed other designs two-to-one. They speculate on whether the success is due to a personal connection or a desire for users to make the banners disappear.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is criticized for appearing in a commercial for Maurice Lacroix Swiss watches while simultaneously running a donation campaign for the encyclopedia. The advertisement also features Sir Bob Geldof. The hosts argue that using the Wikipedia brand for personal commercial gain is hypocritical given the site's non-profit status.

Producer Kirk reports successfully placing the No Agenda logo on a version of the WikiLeaks site via Facebook ads. Additional PR updates include a feature article on Examiner.com regarding the "value for value" model and the release of a Linux-based "bat signal" app on GitHub for show notifications.

The potential arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Sweden is briefly mentioned before the hosts pivot to Jimmy Wales and the Wikipedia fundraising banners. They mock the ubiquitous photos of Wales on the site, with Dvorak sharing an anecdote about Wales having his own photo on both sides of his business card. Adam Curry also mentions his recent installation of GNU PGP for encrypted communication.