Twitter competition: Wikipedia founder has almost 500,000 users in new online network
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales' new online network has gained almost half a million users in less than three months. In its current form, it is "more of a direct competitor to Twitter than to Facebook", said Wales on Monday at the DLD innovation conference in Munich.
With the network called WT.Social (WikiTribune Social), he wants to offer an ad-free alternative to the ad-based business model of today's top dogs such as Facebook, said Wales. Above all, this promotes the focus on keeping users active on the platform by all means. Facebook and co. would also feel the effects of this: "If the public is convinced that your business model is destroying Western civilization, it's a long-term problem for the brand."
The online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, which he founded, has come through the flood of fake news and manipulation in recent years well, said Wales. This is due to the skepticism of the Wikipedia community. However, he is currently concerned about the death of local newspapers in the USA - because there is less knowledge as a result. (SDA)
