[WikiEN-l] Re: Wikipedia-logo merchandise: yawn

Sat Aug 7 14:43:51 UTC 2004

>> I agree - CafePress is expensive. But as you state, there really 
>> aren't any
>> known good alternatives that are cheaper.
>
> Random thought- you think ThinkGeek would be interested in some sort 
> of a deal?

I don't see any point in worrying about it or trying to optimize 
anything.

If the point is to create public awareness of Wikipedia, its presence 
on the Internet (and frequency of appearance in Google search results) 
is probably a (pause for serious numeric estimation) million times more 
effective than wearing T-shirts. If the point is to support Wikipedia, 
why on earth would I buy a $20 T-shirt worth $10 in order to give 
Wikipedia $5, as opposed to a) donating $20 via PayPal (same cost to 
me, four times the benefit to WIkipedia) or b) donating $5 via PayPal 
(same benefit to Wikipedia, one quarter the cost to me)?

The only reason for having Wikipedia-logo merchandise is as a service 
to those who actually _want_ to wear Wikipedia on their sleeve, as it 
were. Cafepress serves that function adequately.

Wiki-merchandise will never be a significant factor in Wikipedia's 
financing unless there is a major diversion of someone's time and 
attention from encyclopedia-building to merchandise creation and 
marketing.

(But what do I know? I was raised by a mom who never allowed 
advertising within the sphere of her personal space. No containers of 
cream were ever placed on the table; the cream was always poured first 
into a pitcher. The idea of staring at Elsie, the Borden cow on the 
breakfast table was anathema to her. No bumper stickers on the Smith 
family car!)

--
Daniel P. B. Smith, dpbsmith at verizon.net
"Elinor Goulding Smith's Great Big Messy Book" is now back in print!
Sample chapter at http://world.std.com/~dpbsmith/messy.html
Buy it at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1403314063/

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