Wikia lays off staff, Wikimedia hires
Jimmy Wales has been in the news a lot this year. There was the breakup e-mail from his ex-girlfriend, circulated 'round the Internet. The allegations that he wrote glowing entries on Wikipedia for companies that donated to the organization. And now, Valleywag reports that Wikia, the for-profit company Wales founded to be a more in-depth Wikipedia, with ads, has laid off a chunk of its staff.
While Valleywag puts the number at 30%, a statement from Wikia says that "as part of a reorganization, Wikia recently let go less than 10% of its salaried employees and is actively hiring in sales and marketing. Details on the open positions can be found at www.wikia.com." The site's hiring page lists vacancies for a marketing manager, advertising sales representatives and a gaming intern.
Under the section Why Work for Wikia?, the site's post recalls the earlier days of Internet exuberance. It says "FUN! -- We work hard and play hard! 'Crazy Shirt Day' or 'Flashback Fridays' anyone? Xbox 360 and Wii games in the lounge room... or maybe take a ride in the massage chair!"
It's unclear what problems Wikia encountered, although it hasn't received funding since December of 2006. It's a little ironic, since Wales talked to The Times earlier this year about the difficulties of working for a nonprofit organization like Wikipedia. He said:
One of the basic problems is funding: We can get enough money to survive but don’t really have the funding to push forward or innovate.
Meanwhile, the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, is hiring. Maybe laid-off Wikians who aren't playing Wii in the lounge room can apply there?
-- Alana Semuels
Photo: Wikia founder Jimmy Wales. Credit: kerryank via Flickr
The overall thrust of this story makes no sense. There's supposed to be some irony, but it is unclear where the irony lies. Both organizations are hiring.
Posted by: Jimmy Wales | October 20, 2008 at 07:03 PM
If that's the best "official PR" response that the Wikia organization can muster -- Jimbo posting a throwaway one-line on an LA Times blog story -- then I can see why Wikia's having trouble keeping all hands on deck. I've roughly calculated that Wikia's revenues might -- MIGHT -- exceed costs by about $12,000 a month. Can't be making Bessemer Partners and Amazon very happy. It takes many, many months to recoup $14,000,000 at that pace.
Posted by: Gregory Kohs | October 20, 2008 at 10:00 PM
It's been known for some time now that Wikia is struggling. They've gotten much more aggressive about pushing ads, and that's alienated some of the digital-sharecroppers, I mean "communities". See the column I wrote recently:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jul/31/wikipedia
Great quote: "Unfortunately, Google ads in the footer pay pennies a click, and nobody clicks".
Posted by: Seth Finkelstein | October 21, 2008 at 12:28 AM
[second try - delete if redundant]
It's been known for some time now that Wikia is struggling. They've gotten much more aggressive about pushing ads, and that's alienated some of the digital-sharecroppers, I mean "communities". See the column I wrote recently:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jul/31/wikipedia
Great quote: "Unfortunately, Google ads in the footer pay pennies a click, and nobody clicks".
Posted by: Seth Finkelstein | October 21, 2008 at 12:29 AM