{"id":23039,"date":"2026-01-21T21:06:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=23039"},"modified":"2026-01-21T21:06:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:06:53","slug":"wikipedias-25th-anniversary-is-a-celebration-of-human-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=23039","title":{"rendered":"Wikipedia\u2019s 25th anniversary is a celebration of human knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Wikipedia is, in many ways, the backbone of the internet. The free encyclopedia boasts more than 66 million articles in 342 languages on just about every topic under the sun; the English articles alone would take more than 38 years to get through. On an average day, the site receives more than 508 million pageviews, according to Pew Research.<\/p>\n

For Wikipedia\u2019s 25th anniversary, the site doesn\u2019t want you to forget it.<\/p>\n

In November, Wikipedia released a brand anthem video that showcases the depth and breadth of its content, its hundreds of thousands of volunteer editors, and the many ways in which that work has shaped the internet today\u2014perhaps not always with due credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI studies Wikipedia,\u201d a voice-over in the anthem declares. \u201cSearch engines copy it. Your smart speaker whispers it back to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The marketing effort, designed with the creative agency Kin, marked a rare moment for the site, which doesn\u2019t typically advertise. It seems to have paid off: the anthem has been viewed more than 24 million times across sites, Wikipedia reported, and has led to an 8% lift in brand awareness and half a million dollars in donations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realized there are some stories we need to tell about ourselves that we have not told,\u201d Zack McCune, director of global brand at the Wikimedia Foundation, told Marketing Brew, adding that \u201cmost internet users perceive Wikipedia as a utility\u2026but they don\u2019t know that it\u2019s written by people.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the site\u2019s official anniversary date, January 15, Wikipedia released a docuseries across social media that further showcases volunteer editors in the US, UK, Nigeria, Japan, India, France, and Brazil. Beyond that, it released a time capsule, a quiz, and a new mascot, Baby Globe, which was hand-drawn and designed by a volunteer. There are also plans for virtual and in-person events as Wikipedia continues to celebrate those who have made the site possible over the last quarter century.<\/p>\n

We spoke with McCune and Sophie Ozoux, co-founder of Kin, about the \u201cKnowledge is Human\u201d campaign and how Wikipedia plans to keep the internet human in the age of AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe human side of Wikipedia\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The anniversary docuseries highlights stories ranging from a physician in India writing about Covid-19 to a woman in the UK writing an article on the founder of the first public wildflower garden in the US. McCune said it wasn\u2019t easy to pick the people to showcase given the sheer volume of volunteers. Ultimately, he said, the team identified large reader markets and put out regional calls for participation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe asked people in our volunteer group, \u2018What are great stories that you don\u2019t think have been told about the human side of Wikipedia?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWe collected those stories, looked at all of them, and ran an editorial process to try to distill down to some super-favorites.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ozoux felt it was important to show the various roles required to keep the site operating, as well as the debates and vetting processes all volunteers endure before their work is published to ensure accuracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really awesome to be able to showcase not only different backgrounds, stories, personalities, but also show people that no matter who you are, what your skill sets are, you can contribute to Wikipedia,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n