Jimmy Wales: How Can Wikipedia Ensure A Safe And Shared Online Space?

Part 3 of TED Radio Hour episode The Public Commons

Wikipedian Jake Orlowitz describes how volunteers update the world's largest encyclopedia. And co-founder Jimmy Wales says the site must not only be a neutral space, but one that encourages diversity.

About Jimmy Wales

Jimmy Wales is the co-founder of Wikipedia, one of the most referenced and used repositories of knowledge on the planet.

Wales co-founded Wikipedia after leaving his job as an option trader in hopes of creating an online encyclopedia that anyone could contribute and edit to. The website today is one of the most visited sites in the world.

He currently serves on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, a charity he helped establish to operate Wikipedia.

Time named him one of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2006.

About Jake Orlowitz

Jake Orlowtiz is a longtime Wikipedia editor. He founded and ran The Wikipedia Library and built The Wikipedia Adventure learning game. For the last half-decade he has written about mental health and recovery on Medium.com and in his book, Welcome to the Circle.

He currently leads WikiBlueprint, a strategic consulting firm advancing open knowledge.

Jake is a graduate of Wesleyan University's College of Social Studies.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by James Delahoussaye and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Twitter @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadio@npr.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.