first-you-get-the-money

Wikipedia's move to SF motivated by cold, hard cash

Owen Thomas · 10/11/07 05:58PM

No, really, why did Wikipedia's parent company, the Wikimedia Foundation, announce a move to San Francisco? We joked about founder Jimmy Wales's kimono collection, but on reflection, we realized that Wikipedia's line about moving closer to Asia is utter B.S. Wales is moving the nonprofit from Florida to California so he can spend less time shuttling back and forth between Wikipedia and his for-profit startup Wikia, which is located in San Mateo and has close ties to the online encyclopedia. The Bay Area's wealthy geeks, too, make natural fundraising targets for the nonprofit foundation. Any way you cut it, this move is all about the money.