User:Cregox/wikimark

Somehow, this idea developed into a much more polished one: Advertisements

So, everything in here is quite outdated already.

--Caue (T | C) 00:06, Monday 2008-08-18 (UTC)

wiki marketing is a suggested name for the idea of using sponsors opt-in advertisements and subscribers opt-in chain marketing to self feed financial growth.

The wikimark, for short, consists on several parts that could join into steps to make it possible to slowly implement the idea into wikimedia, since each part are basically proved facts on internet as working solutions.

example
A new user, John W., visit wikipedia and decides he wants to contribute for the project, to improve it anyway he can.

Since John is out of ideas and doesn't feel like adding articles or spending too much time on it, he decides to do some charity.

When he finds in the Donations page he noticed there's a new suggestion of another way he could help without donating or spending too much time. It just takes some reading and understanding of the idea and a free subscription.

That's not something to see everyday, so John could just ignore it and think it's just another scam, or read through a little bit of information that's right there, so he decides to read, since it doesn't seem too big.


 * To help wikimedia foundation to keep wikipedia and all sister projects within our goals and free of charge, you can subscribe, become an identified user and opt-in to see sponsored content related text ads filtered by your history profile with us. Users and subscribe members have only the contribution of using ads as difference in the screen, and you can always opt-off the ads or even close them each time they appear in the part of your screen that you'll be able to choose which side.
 * Additionally, a subscriber can indicate other subscribers to receive a small contribution from the sponsors. For every new subscriber who indicates someone through the first subscriber number, that first member will count in U$ X cents, and that goes into a chain for 5 levels of indications within each new member. Once a member hits U$ Y amount there will be an option to cash in the money, as a signal of gratitude for using the sponsorship system to help wikimedia existence.
 * Every detail of every transaction with the money will keep being registered and checked clearly in the same funding raising page that already exist for donations, except in a separate plan.
 * Technical details and every law applied to this can be seem here in this link

So John already understands that he can try that new thing, may even make some money or not, but at least he will be helping and may even find something more interesting on the Ads than just spending money for charity.

He decides to try it, and that's how it starts for one person. Eventually, John will invite his friend Mike to see wikipedia, and Mike will easily say who indicated him, don't even need an invitation e-mail, just search for the member, see some details to make sure that was his friend, or use a code or link that could have been sent through an invitation to point out who indicated him and start a chain for John.

Regardless of the chain working, they both know they're getting quality content for free and while they receive good advertisement they're at same time helping wikipedia and the sister projects to keep existing. Just like watching TV and paying attention to good advertisements, except there's even a chance to make some small money out of it.