Wikipedia Day 2023: Date, History, How to Celebrate?

The most popular site for gaining information about various topics turns 22-years-old!

HAPPY WIKIPEDIA DAY 2023: January 15 is celebrated as Wikipedia Dayas it is the birth anniversary of the Wikipedia website. The website started in 2001 and has become increasingly popular since then. Almost everyone knows about Wikipedia today, being especially popular amongstudents.

While searching for a particular topic, a Wikipedia link is the first thing that shows up, ready to guide you through everything. It is loaded with in-depth, valuable information that gives users a clear idea of what they were searching for. It is truly a powerhouse of all kinds of information, readily available to users at a single click. So let us find out more about Wikipedia and its history.

Upcoming Wikipedia Day Dates

HISTORY OF WIKIPEDIA DAY 2023

Earlier, we used to solely depend on school and books as our source of information. Even before Google was founded in 1998, we relied on libraries to find information about various topics. But as technology advanced and the internet hit new highs of development, access to information online became easier.

People started exploring the internet for knowledge, in the process of which, Wikipedia became extremely popular. Also known as the free internet encyclopedia, it contained detailed information about a wide variety of topics. You name it, Wikipedia had it!

It all started when a bond-trader, Jimmy Wales, moved to San Diego to start a web portal Bomis, INC., in the year 1996. In association with Larry Sanger as editor in chief, he founded an online encyclopedia called ‘Nupedia’ in the year 2000.

But, because of the slow publishing process, it was supplemented with wiki software and was launched as a feature of Nupedia. However, due to some objections, Wikipedia was launched as an independent website and published 20,000 articles within a year. A Non-profit foundation called Wikimedia Foundation overlooks Wikipedia. It included articles in many different languages such as German, Polish, French, and Chinese.

SUCCESS AND GROWTH

Using a wiki-based editing system, the site was open for online collaboration and was maintained by a community of volunteers. It was only available in the English language before, however, other versions in different languages quickly developed.

Wikipedia had more than one million English-language articles by 2006 and surpassed 3.5 million articles by 2011. It made an effort to reach even the remote populations by expanding the non-English versions of Wikipedia. All of this combined, Wikipedia has more than 58 million articles, 2 billion unique visits, and more than 16 million edits per month on the articles.

Wikipedia has received truckloads of appreciation over the years. It has been praised for covering a wide variety of topics, educating people on a multitude of subjects, and having a reduced amount of commercial bias. Alexa has frequently ranked Wikipedia as of the 15 most popular sites as of 2022.

It has also been an inseparable part of popular culture, mainly being of help to students who struggle to complete their academic work and assignments. It also does not shy away from covering controversial topics like politics. Topics like these have often brought major media attention to the site.

Today, Wikipedia has become one of the most popular sites globally and has tons of traffic. It has touched the lives of many people and we hope it continues to do so.

HOW TO CELEBRATE WIKIPEDIA DAY 2023?

• As a Wikipedia fan, you can organize your own parties and make Wikipedia-themed decorations and cakes.
• If you’re curious about how Wikipedia works, you can start your own Wikipedia page.
• Read your favorite articles on Wikipedia.
• Take some time to research the founders of Wikipedia.
• You can take this day to spread information about starting one’s own business, even if it seems odd at first. Look where Wikipedia is now!

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: When is Wikipedia Day celebrated?

Answer: Wikipedia Day is celebrated on the 15thof January, every year.

Question 2: When was Wikipedia Day first celebrated?

Answer: It was celebrated on 15^th January 2001 when Wikipedia was first launched.

Question 3: Who are the founders of Wikipedia?

Answer: Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger are the two founders of Wikipedia.

Question 5: Does Wikipedia make money?

Answer: Yes, Wikipedia makes money through donations by readers and merchandise sales. It does not make money through advertisements.