Jimmy Wales: Democracy and the Internet – The Sum of Everything

In my fantasy world, I am sitting after a long day at the TED conference in Long Beach, California, kicking back beers with  Karen Armstrong, Gordon Brown and Olafur Eliasson as we plot the next Ideas Worth Spreading.

And if that fantasy ever happened, I would make it part of my biography on Wikipedia — where my impression may be challenged and eventually changed by others who were sharing a beer with us that day.

That’s the nature of Wikipedia, the free open-content encyclopedia started in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. For those who need fast information, Wikipedia is often the first stop for many seeking quick and organized data on any given topic.

On Friday, Jimmy Wales, who was named TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2006, will be speaking at Calvin College’s Calvin Chapel as a part of its critically acclaimed January Series on the topic of Democracy and the Internet.

And there is a school of thought that says a worldwide open-source platform like Wikipedia is much more than just an easy way to pad a research paper: the free and instantaneous exchange of ideas is also giving birth to exciting changes in democracy. Whoa! That’s cool.

Arrive early if you want to get a seat at this talk.  Calvin College has aggressively added plenty of satellite facilities around the country this year so visit its site if you are reading this outside of Grand Rapids.  Many of the lectures are also available via a Real Player plug-in, but please check Calvin College’s site in advance for blackout lectures.

Admission: Free