Articles Quote by Jimmy Wales
“When I opened Wikipedia, it had three articles, yet it was called an encyclopedia.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: 2005, public statement on Wikipedia
Points out the irony of Wikipedia's early size versus its grand claim of being an encyclopedia.
In simple terms: Wikipedia started tiny but claimed vast knowledge.
Key Takeaway
Don't judge by size alone.
Themes
irony
knowledge
digital media
Mood
thoughtful
critical
Type
observational
media
When to use this quote
- online education
- media criticism
- technology history
Key Concepts
information growth
crowdsourcing
branding
Questions to Reflect On
- What defines an encyclopedia?
- How can small projects become authoritative?
A Different Perspective
Early stage may have limited reliability.
![“I wrote an article about the marine landing [in Haiti] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two months later and I assumed by then, "of course, everybody knows." Nobody knew. There was a news report in the Wall Street Journal, in the petroleum journals, and…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc5/noam-chomsky-42_articles_i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-land_13341.jpg)
