[Foundation-l] An Idea: How to make Wikipedia profitable

Mon Jul 12 05:16:31 UTC 2004

Monday 12, 2004
Mr. Gelemerov; Martin
martin_gelemerov at yahoo.com
35039 Marburg-Lahn
Germany 

Dear Fondation,

I would like to present you my Project: how can I help
to develop the wikipedias Database and make it
profitable. 
First I am a bulgarian student in Germany. I’m
sdudying Economics. 
I read a little about: How to make wikipedia
profitable,  so that was the reason to write this, and
of course because Wikipedia is for me is a
Encyclopedia with a great future!

I can try to make a collaboration between my old high
scool and Wikipedia. I have a good relatioship with
the director of this scool. This school is in
Bulgaria, and teachs foreighn languages – english,
french, italian und russian. 

There are several ways that the Students can prove
they knowleges, one of the most used methods is to
write a Project, about something in Mathematics,
Phisics, Chemistry, Logic, ecc..

So the students can build small groups (2, or 3
Students) to work together. When they are ready with
the Project, they can publisc that in Wikipedia,  in
bulgarian and one foreighn language (that they are
learning). 

I thing that, this scould be very interesting for the
Student, becouse, we are leaving in the Information
Age, the Age of Internet, they sould be happy that
they have finally did something in Internet, that
everyone can see, and read. 

The question is how to persuade the Director? I thing
I have a good answer of this question: For this
contribuation they (the school) can receive some kind
of CERTIFICATE from WIKIPEDIA, with some good words
about the innovative Teaching-Politic, or -Methods,
for scharing  information ecc.

So this Certificate from Wikipedia scould be a great
adverstiment for the School (and of course  great for
Wikipedia too), ant I thing this can persuade the
director to involve Wikipedia in the School. 

If that works, the scool can try to connect with the
Mass Media (like tv, newspapers ecc.),  that’s again a
great possibility for Wikipedia to connect with other
Schools.

In my school are learning 500 Students. For one Year
they can make very much for the enlargement of
Wikipedia (especially in the bulgarian directory). 
And what’s with 50, or we say 100 Schools? (and maby
not only in Bulgaria, so there is a possibility to
make somethiong like knowledge-exchange program, IRC,
ot some kind of that, but this is another point…)

And the best idea is coming now, that the point of all
I want to do for Wikipedia, it’s about donations. If
everything works, we can try to make a connection with
the Ministry of Education and Culture in Bulgaria.
That’s possible also indirectly.
My school is very-well rated school, so that many
children learning there have powerful parents in the
government. So that’s the best synthesis between
collaboration and donation (without any kind of adds
on the Wikipedia’s pages, like other proposal that I
have read on: “Making Wikipedia Profitable”).

THE ONLY THING I need is some kind of  WIKIPEDIA
CERTIFICATE for the school.

So that’s the only thyng I need, so the next month I’m
flying to Bulgaria, were I will meet the director, to
speak face-to-face, and I will try to persuade him to
do this. 

Sincerely,

Martin Gelemerov

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