Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales Appointed UK Government Adviser
Jimmy Wales named as an unpaid adviser to the Government.
The British government has just signed on Jimmy Wales as an adviser on transparency and public policy. The London Telegraph reports that Rohan Silva, a senior Downing Street aide to Prime Minister David Cameron, announced Wales' appointment was announced at South by Southwest last night in Austin, Texas, where Silva was giving a talk titled 'Open Source Government, Enterprise and Innovation.'
Speaking after the announcement, a government spokesperson offered a little bit of clarity as to what Jimmy Wales will be doing:
"Mr Wales will act as an unpaid adviser to Government to support its agenda to open up policy-making to the public," the spokesperson said. "He will advise Government on developing innovative new ways technology can be used to give the public a greater say in the policy-making process."
According to a Whitehall source that spoke to the Telegraph, Wales' role will see him providing help and advice to civil servants as opposed to ministers. Additionally, this source said that the father of Wikipedia is one of several unpaid advisers. Though Wales will serve as an adviser to all government departments, he's also said to have a few specific projects that he will be working on.
Wales co-founded Wikipedia over a decade ago, in 2001, and founded the Wikimedia Foundation in 2003.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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back_by_demand About time they got knowledgable people from the biz rather than relying on stuffy pointless pen-pushers with all the technical background of an Amish man.Reply -
hunshiki Jibby needz more money! :DReply
http://chzmemebase.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/internet-memes-scumbag-jimmy-wales.jpg -
mrmaia It just... doesn't sound right for me. I hope the donations Wikipedia begs for every year doesn't meet politicians' pockets.Reply -
back_by_demand __-_-_-__I don't think it's a good thing. He should be impartial and avoid politics.That's why they asked him, because he is impartial and is a good person to ask for the best ideasReply
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Turn it on it's head, would you rather they appointed someone for advice who was entirley partisan and only motivated by political will? -
sicom This is really fantastic. He's only there to offer advice, and without the incentive of money swaying his opinion. Just purely open and honest advice on how to move the government into the digital age. Really shines a light on the UK.Reply -
billybobser back_by_demandThat's why they asked him, because he is impartial and is a good person to ask for the best ideas...Turn it on it's head, would you rather they appointed someone for advice who was entirley partisan and only motivated by political will?Also, he is quite forthright in his views, which is a bonus.Reply
Previous 'advisors' to the UK governement have been political devices. 'independantly' approved gimmicks to throw backing to the governement.
Not very often the Uk governement listens to good advice anyway. -
cronik93 So does that mean everything about the UK government will be at the top of Google search now?Reply