The Wikipedia co-founder has developed seven rules for building trust to create a better world, both on the internet and IRL.

Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, Jimmy was enamoured with his family's Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The city was home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre, and the energy of the place gave a young Jimmy a robust enthusiasm for technology and the future.

As a young man, Jimmy developed the idea to start a free, online encyclopaedia, built by strangers and shared across languages.

In 2001, Wikipedia was born, and for a time it was derided.

Now, the website is a mainstay of the internet and a resource trusted by many.

Jimmy says Wikipedia is all about strangers working together on the internet, in pursuit of a common goal, powered by their shared enthusiasm, and that is something to celebrate.

Further information

The Seven Rules of Trust: Why It Is Today's Most Essential Superpower is published by Bloomsbury.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.

It covers Twitter, X, trolls, vandalism, respect, civility, not-for-profit, tech bros, volunteers, social media ban, nupedia, servers, bots, AI, meconium aspiration syndrome, authenticity, empathy, logic, abortion, internet traffic, shouting online and civil discussion.

To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

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