David King is the founder of Ethical Wiki, a professional services organization that helps companies improve Wikipedia ethically by offering content, requesting corrections and discussing controversies. Learn more at ethicalwiki.com or read our eBook on Wikipedia & marketing.
After Wiki-PR was exposed last year for manipulating Wikipedia and received a cease and desist letter from the Wikimedia Foundation, more marketers have been raising questions about their approach to Wikipedia and ethical behavior on the...
It’s been a while since I provided an update on the debate within Wikipedia’s editorial community on how and to what extent communications professionals should contribute. The last time the discussion was this active, was when...
Everywhere I go, public relations professionals are asking for more “respect” from Jimmy Wales and the Wikipedia community. PR pros are advocating against the “Bright Line” rule of not directly editing your own Wikipedia page and...
Offering content to Wikipedia’s editorial community is different than traditional content marketing. The content is rule-bound. The editors are thorough. And we must produce neutral content about the company, rather than a thought-leadership subject. Some companies have...
Qorvis recently joined the ranks of PR firms like Bell Pottinger, Portland Communications and Finsbury that stand accused of manipulating Wikipedia entries for their clients. Something that stood out from the summary at The Daily Dot...
Ethical Wikipedia engagement is similar to traditional public relations with journalists. Just as a PR firm would with media, EthicalWiki offers contributed content, resources, discussion and factual corrections to Wikipedians. As it is with media,...
PR and marketing firms are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Edit Wikipedia on behalf of your client and risk breaking the law or joining a long history of publicly humiliated organizations. Tell the client...
This blog post does not constitute legal advice Wikipedia’s openly editable model and a history of misbehavior on the site creates radical attitudes from marketing professionals and the legal departments that support them. As a Wikipedia consultant, companies...
Many Wikipedians have strong opinions about language. We strive to use neutral language, but are choked by the impossibility of the task. “Claimed” implies doubt, “stated” implies officiousness, “said” implies the message was spoken. Neutrality is an...
The biggest reason marketing and Wikipedia’s editorial community often find the relationship contentious is because companies haven’t invested the intellectual capital in meeting Wikipedia’s content needs. We’ve made a science out of the most viral tweet,...