Wikipedia Co-Founder Jimmy Wales To Launch Social Media Website ‘WT:Social’ To Rival Facebook, Twitter

Intended to get right what Facebook and Twitter have so far been getting wrong, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is launching a social-media website named "WT: Social" which will compete with both the social media platforms.

Instead of going for an ad-funded model, Wales aims to finance it through donations, just like Wikipedia.

Like those platforms, WT:Social will let users share articles. But WT:Social will be funded by donations, rather than advertising.

"The business model of social media companies, of pure advertising, is problematic. It turns out the huge winner is low-quality content," Wales was quoted as saying by Financial Times, according to an Engadget report.

It started as Wikitribune -- a site that published original news stories with the community fact-checking and sub-editing articles. The venture never gained much traction, so Wales is moving it to the new platform with a more social networking focus.

WT:Social will be free to join, but at the moment, you either have to sign up for a wait-list, donate or invite friends. Just a month old, it already has 50,000 users, the Engadget report added.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)