Wikipedia reaches fundraising goal, creepy Jimmy Wales face to disappear soon

Wikimedia, the parent company of the online encyclopedia, says it has met its goal of 16 million dollars raised to keep the site commercial free. And it accomplished that goal in the shortest fundraising drive in Wikipedia history, launching it November 14th. Impressive numbers: 500,000 individual donations (more than double last year’s 230,000) from 140 different countries. Average donation was $22. The story in their fundraising this year, of course, was the faces. Instead of the old “fill in the thermometer” approach they used to take, this year they showed faces like founder Jimmy Wales, volunteer editors, humans associated with the project. Turns out people like looking at other people instead of thermometers and they raked in the cash in record time.