Well-known Wikipedia recently celebrated ten years. It is the whole century for the Internet. The founder of network encyclopedia Jimmy Wales, which has entered somehow in one hundred of the most influential people of the world under the version of magazine Time, has grown a beard and received the most prestigious place on a network Olympus.

The small virtual button "[edit]" thought up by him  has transformed the world beyond recognition: having transferred authority from "aristocrats" of-professors to usual users, Jimmy Wales as a matter of fact has made a world democratic revolution. It firstly a phrase «has read through in Wikipedia» was a synonym of amateurishness. Today has proved to everything, that the collective reason is not too bad. Simply at first it should be built up properly, and then — to not stir.

Montessori's principle

In view of that, in its what icon have transformed press and Wikipedia’s activists, Jimmy Wales is modest enough person respecting another's opinion, but capable and to strong-willed and unexpected decisions, In community Wikipedia of opinion on it often opposite. One to this day look on Wales as at the infallible wiki-god, others consider him the tyrant who stirs to free development Wikipedia. Generally there a lot of scandals around of Wales, which can be named if not the wiki-god unequivocally wiki-daddy. That propensity to a pornography, to the censorship, two marriages, the mistress-journalist from Canada which suddenly asks to correct for her biography in Wikipedia (sedition for community!), the expelled colleague and as a matter of fact the founder of the project, charge in waste of property of the company in the personal purposes... Somehow too much for the "god" preferring the cheap Korean machine to “Ferrari” resting in garage.

On a question: who are you, Mr. Wales? — at once also you will not answer. Biography Jimmy Wales is not similar to histories university start-up students in the beginnings of 2000. It did not sit hours at computers in elite Harvard as Mark Zuckerberg who has founded the Facebook, and did not mould in the garage prototypes of search machines as Sergey Brin and Larry Page from Google. Jimmy is the other, as well as his Wikipedia...

He was born on August, 7th, 1966 in small town Huntsville, that in state of Alabama. They still name the city – city of rockets for an arrangement of the basic industrial enterprises working on space agency of NASA.

The father — too Jimmy Wales — up to the pension worked as the manager in grocery shop. The future Wikipedia founder  speaks about it a little. It is much more — about direct tutors: mothers Doris and grandmother Erme. They owned a private school in Huntsville under name House of Learning (the House of knowledge). The establishment constructed in spirit of rural schools which were very popular in the American province of the end XIX — the beginnings of XX century. In one class with Jimmy three children studied all, and taught them firstly itself Doris Wales. However the most important difference of the House of knowledge from usual school was the special education system based on a method of known teacher Maria Montessori. Its essence that the child independently chooses a didactic material and time which it is ready to lead behind it for training. In a word, full freedom. On memoirs Jimmy Wales, such method of teaching though looked strange, subsequently justified itself as pupils on the development appeared for some years "more cleverly that other children of the same age. The American officials sensed easy envy to successes of the House of knowledge and arranged there constant checks. That supposedly textbooks were wrong or teachers have not passed the next seminar on improvement of professional skill.

All these audits were developed at Jimmy on eyes that subsequently have defined its adherence of philosophy of an objectivism and liberalism, or, easier speaking, non-interference of the state to personal freedom of its citizens. Much later it will start to defend furiously independence Wikipedia in China, whence has been compelled to leave even great and awful Google.

Hobby in Huntsville at Wales was reading encyclopedias. Their young Jimmy swallowed volumes literally. This form of obtaining of knowledge about world around became for him passion. He with ease has acted in preparatory college Randolph School, and then, in universities of Auburn, Alabama and Indiana. There Jimmy Wales has received full formation in the field of the finance, in particular, up and down has studied the theory of pricing of options. However, the science soon has bothered it rather, and Jimmy had decided to test the knowledge in practice.

Per 1994 he has moved to Chicago together with first wife Pem with whom has got acquainted during student's working in grocery shop. In mega-city Wales worked on company Chicago Options Associates where down to 2000 traded in options. And for this time has had time to earn very quite good money which, according to its friends, already then have provided to it not only tolerable existence in young years, but also a comfortable old age. Having had time to marry in second time on Mitsubishi trader Christina Roan, Jimmy moved to Saint Petersburg in Florida.

Porno-dealer

In the end 90 there has come the real Internet-boom which has not bypassed the party and Jimmy Wales. In 1996 on a part of the means obtained at a stock exchange together with colleague Tim  Shell he has opened Internet-company Bomis which advanced search engine  «for men» Bomis.com, and also supported  liberal Internet resources Wales itself . does not love comment on these themes. Besides, to separate from the pornographic past, he even some times edited own biography in Wikipedia, that, by the way speaking, it is forbidden by the rules of the virtual encyclopedia entered by him. Naturally, scandal and everyone such has followed. Jimmy began to accuse of intervention in business Wikipedia, but it was hardly later. For now it grew rich on a paid resource premium.bomis.com just with a pornographic content. And what from that? At that time on a porno raised practically all the Internet-businessmen. Profitable business with a greater turn.

But Jimmy-businessman did not intend to stop on that point and has started the new project — Nupedia in 2000. The name has gone from the Greek letter «nu» which in the ideal image was conformable with an English word new (new). Nupedia, on plan Jimmy, should borrow seductively empty niche free-of-charge the Internet-encyclopedia which would be created and edited by greater community of authors-professionals.

As the editor-in-chief of project Jimmy has employed scientist-philosopher Larri Sengera with whom, however, he had a conflict. The matter is that in only 24 articles has appeared in Nupedia during its existence. The scientist, probably, has appeared too thoughtful author and too exacting editor. Wales decided, that so business will not go, and has setup the affiliated project in 2001 — Wikipedia.

Wiki-empire

Wales has scrupulously built the empire by a principle of hierarchy, in which — here it, paradox! — there is no place to the emperor.

In the name the term wiki (in translation with Hawaiian "fast") which was applied in the middle by 90 American programmer Ward Kanningem has been used. It means a web-site, which contents users can change by means of the tools given by a site. In other words, at such resource the open HTML-code that explains occurrence subsequently enormous quantity of clones , for instance well-known Internet-resource WikiLeaks which as a matter of fact represents all the same "open" encyclopedia only specializing on revealing of state secrets.

By the way, about WikiLeaks Jimmy Wales responds extremely negatively, approving, that the essence of this project has no anything the general with editing by users of its maintenance. So, there is nothing to use in the name and a prefix wiki.

But we shall return to Wikipedia. Wikipedia originally existed on Jimmy’s  porno-money. And literally in few days Nupedia’s "daughter" has overtaken the parent project by quantity of articles and appeared principal. Business promptly went uphill. And in 2003 Wikimedia Foundation (Wales’ operating company Wikipedia and other wiki-projects) has appeared on the Internet. The fund has united ten projects — Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, Wikiquote, Wikisource, Wikinews, Wikiversity, Wikispecies, Wikimedia Commons, MediaWiki. Number of the registered users — more than 33 million that is comparable to the population, for example, Canada. And number of writing anonyms and "wreckers" is many times more. All questions in Wikimedia are subject of voting of community. Council of solicitors operates the "state". Its operating chairman — Oozes Cheng. He is ruling authority de-facto, instead of Jimmy Wales. Theoretically to edit Wikipedia or other project of fund any interested person, even the anonym can. But it will be limited in the opportunities. Sole agency of wiki-empire in a real life is the office in San Francisco. 57 employees who serve servers, work on it an infrastructure, attract money in the project and PR.

Jimmy won the Net. And the Internet saved for it just anger. The next scandal has inflamed after Wales has dismissed Larry Sengar and began to wipe diligently from Wikipedia any references to it as the founder of the project. And when the with unfaltering hand he has removed all images of the erotic maintenance from, the storm has risen in community. As a result it has refused all technical opportunities in projects of fund, having left these functions the community.

As of financing, that, having chopped off the ends was porno-business, Wales has addressed to other spheres. You, probably, saw a banner on a site of the project, calling to donations. And so, the most part of means Wikimedia Foundation receives from such endowments. As on a temple. For example, in the past year managed to collect 18 million dollars. Imagine, how many it was possible to earn money if on Wikipedia there was advertising! But Jimmy has not made it. However, absolutely to refuse such a pie was difficult for Wales. In 2004 he has created company Wikia which gives a hosting for different wiki-sites. And there it is a lot of advertising. But that was not his principal goal. The world popularity quite compensates Jimmy Wales the financial dividends missed in the Network. Travel on the world on the money earned at the Chicago stock exchange, read lectures for tens thousand dollars and receive enormous investments for only one card. Will tell, a little? But in fact it also is the American dream in the pure state.