Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


0

Wiki Founder May Take on Facebook

Jimmy Wales' new project combines networking, search

Share

(Newser) – Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is apparently going after Facebook and Google in the social-networking arena, Wired reports. Wales showed slides of his upcoming project during a speech in South Africa, and a tech blogger on hand described it as a "search/social networking hybrid" that incorporates elements of both internet powerhouses.

"It's not a healthy thing that power is in the hands of a couple of companies," Wales said. "The information needs to be out there in the public," he added, a nod to the Wikipedia philosophy. A screen shot of Wales' new project showed that the pages look more like Facebook profiles than Google search pages. No word yet on when it rolls out.

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, answers a question during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, June 29, 2007, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Wrestler Chris Benoit's page on Wikipedia was updated about 14 hours before authorities found Benoit's wife and son murdered in their home. The reason he missed a...
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, answers a question during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, June 29, 2007, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Wrestler Chris Benoit's page on Wikipedia was updated...   (Associated Press)
Internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, attends the iBreakfast forum on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, attends the iBreakfast forum on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)   (Associated Press)
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, answers a question during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, June 29, 2007, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Wrestler Chris Benoit's page on Wikipedia was updated about 14 hours before authorities found Benoit's wife and son murdered in their home. The reason he missed a...
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, answers a question during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, June 29, 2007, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Wrestler Chris Benoit's page on Wikipedia was updated...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.6.09
Galleon Scandal: Shocked, Shocked by Insider Trading
11.5.09
Rupert Murdoch Is Mad but Cute
0 comments
VIEWING:
 
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

65 Stories

Wales:
Wikipedia Changes Exaggerated

Only a few posts will
be delayed for approval

Sep 30, 09 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Wikipedia's editorial changes aren't so sweeping after all, says co-founder Jimmy Wales. Reports that the open-source encyclopedia would restrict edits to entries on all living people are “just completely wrong," he tells Time. Instead, the site will adopt “flagged revision”—in which edits are checked by... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Wikipedia • Jimmy Wales • editor • open source • encyclopedia • Wikimedia

Tax Collectors Use MySpace, Google to Find Deadbeats

Public profiles can provide valuable income information for revenue agents

Aug 27, 09 3:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Internet-savvy state tax collectors are using a new tool in tracking down evaders: social networking websites. Tax collectors are taking advantage of the fact that an individual’s MySpace or Facebook profile often contains quite a bit of professional information, the Wall Street Journal reports. Agents in Nebraska, for example,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
social networking • Google • MySpace • IRS • Facebook • tax evasion • income • Internal Revenue Service • tax fraud • state governments • state budgets • social media

Facebook, Google Roll Out Persian Updates

Internet companies
rush new tools for Iranian protesters

Jun 19, 09 6:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Twitter has taken extraordinary measures to keep its site running during the Iranian election protests, and now other websites are speeding up developments. Today Facebook launched an early version of its site in Persian, relying on 400 volunteers to translate pages into the local language. "We felt it was... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iran • Google • Facebook • translation • Internet censorship • Twitter • Iranian election • social media

550 Facebookers Per
Second Vie for New URLs

Members claimed vanity addresses at more than 550 a second

Jun 13, 09 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Facebook’s offer of personalized URLs drew 500,000 members in 15 minutes after midnight today, Bloomberg reports. “We saw higher than usual traffic,” said a spokesman. “Planning allowed us to handle that traffic well.” The feature, designed to make Google searches easier, allows the site’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
social networking • Google • Internet • Facebook • URL

 Spooks Use Wiki to Share Intel 

Site enables rapid sharing of information, advocates say

Apr 8, 09 3:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - The CIA has grown wise to the power of open-source collaboration, and Intellipedia—a classified version of Wikipedia—is humming with activity 3 years after its debut, Time reports. The site boasts 900,000 pages of content written by 100,000 identified intelligence professionals. Advocates cite the rapid treatment of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • CIA • Wikipedia • spy • open source • intelligence agencies • intelligence-gathering • Intellipedia

65 Stories


Wikipedia boss Jimmy Wales to create Facebook competitor?
matthewbuckland.com

The encyclopedist's lair
New York Times


Technology  •  Business  •  Media 
TwitterFollow @NewserTech on Twitter

 
Google • Wikipedia • Jimmy Wales • Facebook • South Africa • Wikia • open source • walled garden

from our news partners