In my post “Search Engine Optimization: Why and how to optimize your college’s article in Wikipedia,” I explain why Wikipedia articles are about to become more and more important for search engine optimization before adding:
Now is probably a good time for your marketing/communication office to make sure the Wikipedia article about your college or university gives an accurate picture of your institution. […]
Anyone can edit an article in this encyclopedia. So, the article will evolve over time – hopefully in the right direction -, but your marketing/communication office should definitely check it for accuracy from time to time.
Steve Rubel, the PR strategist and blogger behind Micro Persuasion, gives another good reason for your marketing/communication office to monitor your Wikipedia article, in his post “Wikipedia’s Impact on PR (Part I):”
“So far this year, the mainstream media has cited Wikipedia as an authoritative body of knowledge nearly 100 times. Obviously, this underscores the need for every PR professional to be monitoring the human-powered encyclopedia for client/brand references”.
After citing controversial excerpts from Wikipedia articles about big corporate names, Rubel discusses interesting questions, “as Wikipedia is relied upon as a credible source by the press, will these and other companies begin to edit articles? What guidelines should we follow? I don’t have the answers to these questions. It’s something I’d like to put out there and see how others react. My initial feeling is, if you can prove the article false, challenge it.”
Fortunately, the Wikipedia people working on the WikiProject Universities have come up with a few guidelines to avoid what they call academic boosterism:
- Avoid vague terms of praise.
- Do not bury the reader in facts.
- If you cite college and university rankings, be precise and honest.
- Boosterism is particularly unpalatable to some Wikipedians when describing institutions whose “elite” status is already widely acknowledged elsewhere. No more needs to be said.
