[Foundation-l] Blink tag jokes are now obsolete.

Sat Dec 31 23:02:14 UTC 2011

On Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 12:59 AM, geni <geniice at gmail.com> wrote:
> We appear to have actual blinking ads. Unfortunate. Still I suppose
> the occasion should be marked.

You're a year late to mark it. The year-end fader banner was first
used in 2010, e.g.:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:NoticeTemplate/view&template=20101229_JAFS003fader_US

A fundraising campaign is not a switch-on/switch-off affair. It has an
arc. It's that arc that helps it be successful. This is the last day
of the campaign, and a final invitation to give to reach our goal. It
should communicate a sense of urgency towards closure and resolution,
coinciding with people's increased year-end willingness to give (which
isn't just about taxes). Utilizing a tasteful but slightly
unconventional banner that one time is entirely appropriate to wrap
things up.

Last year's December 31 was, up until this year, our most successful
fundraising day ever. This year's first day of the campaign seems
likely to stay our most successful fundraising day of all time,
followed by this year's December 31. Those are great successes worth
celebrating.

But what's especially worth noting is that the fundraising team has
worked enormously hard this year to build a fundraising story that's
_not_ simply about maximizing revenue. This deserves celebration, too,
but I'll send a separate note about that.

Happy new year all -

Erik
-- 
Erik Möller
VP of Engineering and Product Development, Wikimedia Foundation

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