 Brands Council overview and expert speaker
introduction
 For more information about participating on the
Gary Spangler, Brands Council, contact Gary at
E-Business
Leader
brandscouncil@womma.org or visit our website at
DuPont http://womma.org/brandscouncil
Electronic &
Communication
Technologies
Featured Speaker: Jay Walsh, Head of
Communications
Wikimedia Foundation

Embracing Wikipedia:
How to Understand a Movement in
Public Collaboration on the Web
May 2009
Jay Walsh, Head of Communications
2

3/24
Ahead
A little about Wikipedia
The five pillars of Wikipedia
Awareness and reality
Before you edit
If you edit
Best practices

4/24
The Wikimedia Foundation is the 501(c)(3)
non-profit that runs Wikipedia.

5/24
La enciclopedia libre
Die freie Enzyklopädie
L'encyclopédie libre Свободная энциклопедия
Wikipedia is the largest encyclopedia in history:
‫ﺍﳌﻮﺳﻮﻋﺔ ﺍﳊﺮﺓ‬
2 billion+ words
L’enciclopedia libera
12 million+ articles
维基百科
4 million+ images
De vrije encyclopedie
250+ languages
he Free Encyclop
フリー百科事典
4th most visited website (comScore April 2009)
Wolna encyklopedia

6/24
Wikipedia Global Traffic
Select informa.on sites, unique visitors
350,000,000
300,000,000
Wikipedia
New York Times
250,000,000 CNN
BBC News
Merriam Webster
200,000,000 Fox News
Microsoft Encarta
National Geographic
150,000,000
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Wall Street Journal
PBS
100,000,000
NPR
50,000,000
0
Source: comScore

7/24
Wikipedia as platform
Five Pillars
Wikipedia is an encyclopedia

Wikipedia has a neutral point of view

Wikipedia is free content

Wikipedia has a code of conduct

Wikipedia does not have firm rules


8/24
Wikipedia as platform
"Wikipedia's present power structure is a mix of anarchic,
despotic, democratic, republican, meritocratic, plutocratic, and
technocratic elements."
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Power_structure

9/24
Common questions
Do we control search (google) prominence?
Is anyone paid to edit?
Who takes responsibility?

10/24
Wikipedia as platform
Caveats
Eternal memory
Ultimate transparency
Active and defensive editors who are linked by common
principles and beliefs.

11/24
Awareness
Streisand effect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_Effect

12/24

13/24
Wikiwatcher.com / aka Wikiscanner
http://wikiwatcher.com/

14/24

15/24

16/24
h5p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales#Controversies

17/24
A no-brainer?
In an entirely open, transparent space like
Wikipedia... your participation is not private.
Does that mean you cannot participate?
Participation is welcome, but realize that conflict
of interest is black and white for Wikipedians.
If you intend to edit on behalf of a client or your organization,
you are likely in a COI situation.

18/24
Wikipedia and best practices
No one is ‘excluded’ from editing in Wikipedia.
No one is excluded from being banned or reverted.
No one is truly in total control of the platform.

19/24
Before you edit
Is the information wrong?
Or is something simply missing?
Have you done enough to ensure the facts exist
outside of Wikipedia (no original research)
Have you carefully examined the history of the
article?
Have you reviewed the ‘discussion’ page of the
article?
Are you prepared for the consequences?

20/24
Before you edit
If it’s a simple fact to be fixed...
Would an email to volunteers solve the
problem?
info@wikimedia.org
Describe the issue/failure/error/omission
Identify yourself and source the correct
information
Volunteers are standing by to help

21/24
Before you edit
Poll your workplace:
Is there another Wikipedian in your
organization?
Would they appreciate the opportunity to
inform you?
Might they work with you to clarify information?

22/24
If you edit
One account / one user
Avoid editing anonymously (without an account)
Create your own account and don’t share it
Consider a broader editing experience (not just
focussing on one topic, one article, one issue
Use the article ‘discussion’ section first

23/24
If you edit
Prepare for a dialog
Wikipedia is a discussion, not a parking lot
If you look like a PR machine or a brand
manager, you will likely be treated as such – be a
contributor
Cite facts – use excellent articles as an example
Mimic good wiki mark-up
Don’t spin, avoid adjectives and make minor
edits
Defer to an experienced Wikipedian when they
offer to help or take the lead

24/24
Best practices
Watch your pages
You have an account, so use the ‘watch this
page’ function
Don’t wait for errors or problems to stack up
Participate in the discussion, be present and
express concern for facts and accuracy
Populate the facts across the web – Wikipedia is
not the first stop for truth
Wikipedians pay attention to mainstream media
coverage

25/24
Be generous
Wikipedia is good because the internet is good
Do you release free images/video/podcasts on to
the web?
Tactical information, visuals, diagrams, anything
available under a free license may help extend
your brand (CIA map data is the most cited on
WP)
Have you taken the time to answer the basic
questions about your brand on your own
website?
Release high quality material under a free
license (CC-BY-SA, public domain, etc)

Fin
Recall
Nothing hides in WP
Neutrality / non-censorship rule
Wikipedian in your midst?
Wikipedia is not your first step
Populate the facts
Support free culture
Jay Walsh, Head of Communica.ons
jwalsh@wikimedia.org