Recently I wrote about an exchange Lil' Dice and I had. It was a disagreement as to whether Lost Lake in Mound, Minnesota was notable enough to be included in Wikipedia. The outcome, generally good enough, isn't that important. What I think may be important is a new understanding I have of why Wikipedia is successful? It is successful if you measure it by market share, or its impact on society. It is Lil' Dice and I, not being paid for our voluntary contributions of time and labor to Wikipedia. This may be a "well duh" statement of mine, but we both apparently like what we doing, and even do it for free. It is similar to a business model I have kind of developed. The, "It's fun to be at work" model of business. With this model, compensation of the workers is not all important. It is the intangible rewards that motivate the employees. I do think this model almost always involves someone like Jimmy Wales. Someone with some positive attributes, someone with for lack of a better word, a little magic. And it often involves the perception of doing something notable. People finding something to do that is fun.

The economics of the situation require I think that the "It's fun to be at work" model, holds or stays in place. Wikipedia needs to keep making it, "It's fun to be at work", or its position will be less than it could be. Wikipedia cannot pay its volunteers much if anything, yet it is dependent on them. In some respects, Wiki is beyond Capitalism, yet it's still within it too. Its workers do not negotiate for money, its financial statements do not show much in the way of compensation. Its core is not a typical business. But a key word in the definition of capitalism is voluntary. That people have voluntary relationships with others. This is the case with Wikipedia, I'd say.

Also noted is, I am still looking around for Wikipedia's latest 990 form. This IRS form, is the one form most important to a 501(c)(3) like Wikipedia. I have the latest I can find here, on about the middle of page and have moved myself into a notable Google position by being one of the few sources of it. Number one as of today for the phrase: "Wikimedia's 990 Tax Return." I even beat Wikipedia. The Wikimedia page on Wikipedia as of today, still returns nothing when you click to see their latest filed 990 return. This is not some insignificant problem. This is their 990 that you can't even find on Wikipedia.

 

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