Wales is frequently active on Quora, where someone asked him if he likes the show. His response was:

Apparently HBO Go is not sufficient for all fans of HBO shows. Even the founder of one of the biggest sites on the web.

The app enables you to upload multiple files and share uploads through social media sites. The Android version lets you add categories as well. If you enable “GPS Tag,” you can tag your photos geographically.

Wikimedia’s Maryana Pinchuk said in a blog post, “Your contributions to Commons can help illustrate the world’s largest encyclopedia and make knowledge come to life for millions of readers around the globe.”

“In the future, we hope to add more features and make it easier to browse and discover all the great content Commons has to offer,” added Pinchuk. “We also look forward to being able to run more campaigns like Wiki Loves Monuments, encouraging expert Commons users and people new to Wikimedia projects alike to contribute to high-need content areas.”

“By uploading your photos, you can help further the goal of spreading free knowledge around the world,” the app description says. “You won’t just be sharing your images with your friends – you’ll be sharing them with Wikipedia’s billions of readers around the globe.”

The app contains no ads, and it is free to download. It’s available in Google Play and in the App Store.

The previous high was set in May of 2012, when Wikimedia Foundation sites saw 492 million uniques. In March, the family of sites saw an astounding 517 million unique vistors. The data comes courtesy of the latest comScore Media Matrix.

“In the Wikimedia movement, we have a vision statement that inspires many contributions to our endeavor: Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That’s our commitment,” says Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Sue Gardner.

“The idea of enabling every single human being to freely share in the sum of all knowledge is still as audacious as ever – but it’s also starting to look like an achievable goal, if we come together to make it happen.”

The increase in uniques has also had an impact on how long readers stay and how much content they consume. Gardner says that people are staying longer and reading more.

“Over the past 12 months, Wikipedia monthly page requests increased from 17.1 billion to 21.3 billion, with the mobile share increasing to roughly 15 percent of the total, or more than 3 billion monthly views. We’re also gratified to see growth in significant target areas: in India, traffic as a percentage of our worldwide total increased from 4.0 percent to 4.8 percent; in Brazil it increased from 3.6 percent to 5.9 percent.”

Speaking of Sue Gardner – she’s not long for the position of Wikimedia director. A couple of weeks ago, she announced that she would be stepping down from the job – not right away, as she expects to take 6 months or so to find a replacement.

The Wikimedia foundation posted to its blog today, recommending the app, which lets you download the millions of article contained within Wikipedia to your device, so you can read any article any time, even when you’re offline or when you don’t want to use your data plan).

The app can also be used to download special selections of pages. Wikimedia’s Renaud Gaudin writes:

In places where connectivity is a difficult (at least 30 countries on the sole African continent), the only way to access Wikipedia content is Kiwix Desktop, but it still requires a computer and electricity. Cheap Android devices might spread more quickly, and we really want to facilitate access to free content everywhere.

That said, Kiwix for Android can also be just as useful to Westerners who want to walk around with the entirety of the world’s largest encyclopedia in their pocket (if they have a big enough SD card), accessible at no cost or data fees.

You can find the app in the Google Play store.

One time, we learned that psychos keep him from voting in elections. Another time, we found out what he thinks about people who think he has the power to shut down Wikipedia. Recently, we learned that he will probably buy Google Glass.

Today, we see Wales having some Chuck Norris humor fun.

Read Quote of Jimmy Wales’ answer to Jimmy Wales: Is Jimmy Wales the Chuck Norris of Quora? on Quora

You can’t find this stuff on Wikipedia.

“In one easy step, you can upload an image from your phone’s camera or image library and add it directly to an article that has no images,” says Wikipedia associate product manager Maryana Pinchuk. “You can also donate images for use on articles that already have images but may need more.”

“Images enhance the visual appeal of Wikipedia and its sister projects and help bring our content to life, but they’re also a powerful educational tool,” adds Pinchuk. “There’s no better way to describe a notable building or landmark than with a current photo. Not only will you be illustrating knowledge, you’ll also be sharing your photographs with billions of people around the globe.”

Back in October, Wikipedia gave its mobile site a new layout. Clearly, improving the mobile experience has been a focal point for the organization in recent months.

In other Wikipedia news, long-time Executive Director Sue Gardner announced she’s stepping down from her position this morning, though she doesn’t think she’ll be leaving for another six months.

She’s been with the foundation since it was small, and has helped lead it to the Internet force it has become. But why is she leaving? She doesn’t like where the Internet is headed. Gardner, who says the decision wasn’t easy, says it comes down to two things.

“First, the movement and the Wikimedia Foundation are in a strong place now,” she says in her announcement. “When I joined, the Foundation was tiny and not yet able to reliably support the projects. Today we’re healthy, thriving, and a competent partner to the global network of Wikimedia volunteers. If that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t feel okay to leave, and in that sense, my leaving is very much a vote of confidence in our Board and executive team and staff. I know they will ably steer the Foundation through the years ahead, and I’m confident the Board will appoint a strong successor to me.”

“I feel that although we’re in good shape, with a promising future, the same is not true for the internet itself. (This is thing number two.) Increasingly, I’m finding myself uncomfortable about how the internet’s developing, who’s influencing its development, and who is not,” she adds. “Last year we at Wikimedia raised an alarm about SOPA/PIPA, and now CISPA is back. Wikipedia has experienced censorship at the hands of industry groups and governments, and we are –increasingly, I think– seeing important decisions made by unaccountable, non-transparent corporate players, a shift from the open web to mobile walled gardens, and a shift from the production-based internet to one that’s consumption-based. There are many organizations and individuals advocating for the public interest online — what’s good for ordinary people — but other interests are more numerous and powerful than they are. I want that to change. And that’s what I want to do next.”

More on recent developments with CISPA here.

Gardner says she intends to do something else aligned with the values of Wikimedia, which might surface in the form of a book, a non-profit, or work in partnership with something that already exists.

“Either way, I strongly believe this is what I need to do,” she says. “I feel an increasing sense of urgency about this. That said, I also feel a strong sense of responsibility (and love!) for the Wikimedia movement, and so I’ve agreed with the Board that I’ll stay on as Executive Director until we have my successor in place. That’ll take some time — likely, at least six months.”

In the meantime, she says, nothing will change.

The Board has appointed a transition team, which will be meeting over the coming weeks, with a face-to-face meeting scheduled for mid-April.

Here’s an interview we did with Gardner back in 2009 about keeping Wikipedia relevant.

But will it be a revolution? Wikipedia founder and frequent Quora contributor Jimmy Wales has some thoughts on the new tech.

Jimmy, will Google Glass succeed? Honestly, he says he doesn’t know.

“This kind of technology is obvious and obviously coming. Will Google Glass succeed? Dunno. Even great companies like Google and Apple have failed product introductions. Remember Apple Newton? Remember Apple TV? But give it 10 years, or 20 years. Let the technology get small enough and come down in price enough that you can’t tell the difference between Google Glass (or Apple iEye, ha!) and and a normal traditional pair of glasses, and I think they’ll be popular enough.”

Wales does think that Google Glass looks “extremely cool and fun,” though. And he says that he will probably be getting his own pair.

“Will I be getting my own pair? Probably! Will I wear them around on a normal day with normal people? I don’t know. Depends on the tradeoffs between looking weird and having a cool interface to the world.”

And what about the negative feedback that’s already emerging?

“It’s interesting to see all the pushback it is getting before it’s even on the market, of course…the privacy implications are interesting, although of course it’s true that the ubiquity of cellphones and the social pressure not to stand around like a jerk filming people makes a difference.”

Read Quote of Jimmy Wales’s answer to Hypothetical Questions: Can Jimmy Wales shut down Wikipedia at his will? on Quora

Very stupid.

Update: Since this was first posted, Wales has decided to change his wording a bit:

Read Quote of Jimmy Wales’s answer to Hypothetical Questions: Can Jimmy Wales shut down Wikipedia at his will? on Quora

One of the comments in the thread, from Marcus Geduld, said:

Mr Wales, I have tremendous respect for you and your work, but I’m saddened and surprised to see the founder of an encyclopedia — and educator — write, “This is a very stupid question.”

Not everyone understands that wikipedia is a corporation, and not everyone understands how corporations work. People who don’t understand how certain things work can often learn by asking questions. When we respond with “That’s a stupid question,” we send them a message that says “Stop asking questions!” And that response likely to resonate all the more loudly if it comes from someone in your position.

Another comment suggested that Wales was responsible for the famous SOPA blackout, to which he responded, “I didn’t do it. There was a community vote, support from the CEO, etc. I do not have (nor want!) sole authority for anything like that.”

Wikipedia user West.andrew.g has been looking at the popularity trends of Wikipedia articles over the past few years and has just published those findings in The Signpost, Wikipedia’s community newspaper. He breaks “popular” articles into two categories: isolated popularity and consistent popularity. The latter are articles that simply receive the most traffic, at all times. The top articles on this list include Facebook, United States, YouTube, Google, Sex, Justin Bieber – no big surprises there.

But it’s the isolated popularity of certain Wikipedia articles that’s truly interesting.

If you want your Wikipedia article to experience a surge in traffic, you have to die or play at the Super Bowl.

Five of the top eight biggest spikes (measured in an influx of traffic in a one-hour period) occured due to celebrity deaths – Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Steve Jobs, Osama bin Laden, and Ryan Dunn. Two of the spikes were for Super Bowl halftime shows – Madonna and The Who.

Whitney Houston’s Wikipedia page saw 425.6 views per second during an hour-long period on February 12th, 2012.

Other than deaths and the Super Bowl, other things that can drive traffic spikes to Wikipedia articles are being featured as the subject of a Google Doodle, being a TV show with a concerted “second-screen” effort, and being linked to on a site like reddit (Today I learned…).

[The Signpost via The Verge]