From the founder of Wikipedia a sweeping reflection on the global crisis of credibility and
knowledge revealing “the rules of trust” that transformed Wikipedia from a scrappy experiment
into a global utility used by billions of people—and how those rules can help others build
things that last “An important book . . . both hopeful and practical.”—Yuval Noah Harari
bestselling author of Sapiens and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century From the beginning people
predicted Wikipedia’s demise. Instead this global experiment in sharing knowledge and
expertise online has become part of the fabric of modern connected life. Today every month
people view Wikipedia 11 billion times—just in the English language. The Internet’s
encyclopedia has become a global utility like water or electricity and we rarely pause to
consider the extraordinary fact of its existence. Long before it became the biggest collection
of knowledge in the history of the world Wikipedia had to overcome its greatest challenge:
getting strangers on the Internet to trust each other. They had to trust that others would not
be abusive or uncivil. They had to trust that others would not unfairly change or erase their
contributions. They had to trust that people had good intentions. Trust Wikipedia founder
Jimmy Wales says is a treasure. But it is not inanimate like gold or gems. Trust is a living
thing that can and must be cultivated. This book will show you how. And it will reveal how his
organization this one-time punchline has become a global authority—in the same two decades
when the public’s trust in everything else from government to social media has trended
backwards. Every community on earth depends on trust it underpins our capacity to know
things and it is at an all-time low. Inspiring approachable and packed with candid lessons
from the early days of Wikipedia The Seven Rules of Trust is a guide to kickstarting a
positive loop of accountability and creativity—and to building things that stand the test of
time.
