Internet is evolving to include more languages and cultures. Meanwhile the rise of English as the world’s second language is only speeding up
Credited with creating Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales , 43, is the archetypal Internet entrepreneur and celebrity. Intensely curious even as a child, Wales spent hours poring over the Britannicas and World Book Encyclopedias. Wikipedia is the outcome of Wales’ vision that every single person on the planet is given full access to the sum of all human knowledge. Before becoming an Internet entrepreneur, he worked at a futures and options firm in Chicago where he earned his fortune. Wales is the president of Wikia Inc. and chairman of the Wikimedia Foundation.
The knowledge-sharing we take for granted in English — we just assume we have easy access to any information we want — has not been true for many other languages.
(This story appears in the 04 June, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)