Wikipedia has been soliciting donations from its many readers through ads placed above their articles. These “appeals to emotion”, in my opinion are viewed more as a joke than they are taken seriously, thus the recently popular meme going around showcasing the various Wikipedia members next to titles of weird pages, or funny quotes.

WHY THESE ADS?

Wikipedia wishes to solicit  ”small gift” donations to raise money, and more importantly, avoid the imposition that often accompanies “big gift” donors. My solution is simple, Wikipedia needs to add a Flattr button.

ADD A FLATTR BUTTON

Instead of running these ads, which Gen Y laughs at, they should take a different approach. They shoud speak to Gen Y in their langauge.

They should add a Flattr button to the top right of their posts. It takes up much less space than an advertisement, is less intrusive, and people will be intrigued by it. Flattr isn’t a well known service (although it should be).

I imagine that the click through rate on a Flattr button would be much higher than the advertisements that Wikipedia is currently running. This is because the Flattr button is mysterious and unfamiliar. People want to know what this new social button is. They will click on it, set up an account, and then need a place to test it out.

There is your donation right there.

CONCLUSION

If Wikipedia is looking for small gift donations Flattr is the perfect partner. They should put a Flattr button on each page, help launch a new micro-payment platform, and in the process possibly raise some money without the annoyance of running ads.

Wikipedia could even keep the Flattr button up indefinitely. It is a less aggressive way of saying, “Hey, I like to provide you with this content, but could you help by contributing a little bit every so often.”

Edit Note:  Also, by utilizing a button with a counter it identifies that others have given, thus influencing others to give. This is something that the current ads fail to achieve.