Wikepedia chief and co-founder, Jimmy Wales accepted a position with the British government as an unpaid advisor for open policy creation and other technology-based initiatives. Using his extensive technology and business savvy, Wales will instruct civil servants on how to best engage the public via the internet and available online software.
Efforts are currently underway to merge many government websites into one all service area where users can engage in making policy and learn more about how to help representatives make more informed decisions. British officials have been attempting to gain momentum with their efforts to access the public and make regulation and legislation more accessible to citizens for years and the addition of Wales marks a new high for their campaigns.
Let’s see what people on Twitter had to say about the Wikipedia founder entering into public service:
@phillburns
Phill Burnshttp://t.co/0uoRLYJB Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia Founder to become UK #government advisor. Good news I’d say yeah?
4 hours ago via TweetCaster for Android · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@JamesFirth
James FirthGov appoints @jimmy_wales as policy transparency adviser. Simple fix: get rid of #FOI S35 & S36 exemptions: http://t.co/hgnliife 6 hours ago via TweetDeck · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@abu718
MongoNo shit. Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales becoming adviser to British government http://t.co/egfLubKt 3 hours ago via TweetDeck · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@joan_starr
Joan StarrHow about that! RT @jafurtado Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales becoming adviser to British government,by Jamie Keene /The Verge http://t.co/nkjFt2OC 2 hours ago via web · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@abubuts
abubuts.comWikipedia’s Jimmy Wales to be adviser to British Government: Jimmy Wales, you all know him right? That … http://t.co/k4V2x24I #abubuts 3 hours ago via twitterfeed · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@PXDigitalGov
Chris Yiu@jimmy_wales congratulations! Great to have you advising UK gov. Let us know next time you’re over, would love to talk http://t.co/Py0jZbxg 4 hours ago via web · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@piggiebrotha
Dorian ProdanWikipedia’s Jimmy Wales becoming adviser to British government. Expect “please, can you spare some pennies” banner in Parliament. 4 hours ago via Silver Bird · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
Andy LancasterHow soon before we see his face pleading for money at the top of every .gov.uk site? http://t.co/i3PnlPhu #thehorror 4 hours ago via Seesmic · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
@AnonNewsDE
Anonymous Germany#Golem: Open Government: Jimmy Wales berät britische Beamte http://t.co/KpsemOMf #Internet #WWW 1 hour ago via twitterfeed · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
Chris ArmstrongThis is a great move for @jimmy_wales – becoming an adviser to the British government. http://t.co/3qd5ydGy 4 hours ago via Twitter for Mac · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
Sounds to me like Wales is a welcome addition. It definately helps to have an experienced entreprenuar of his caliber onboard. I can’t wait to see what change he can bring about. When the public can be heard before legislation is passed, things are bound to change for the better. I am curious what others think about that.
