My previous post Have a new Type of Product? Stake Your Wikipedia Claim advised innovators to leverage gaps in Wikipedia’s coverage by defining emerging (or at least, as of yet undefined) categories and subcategories of technology.
Peter Blackshaw’s article on ClickZ Ten Reasons Marketers Should Pay Attention provides an excellent follow-on. He talks about affirmation, which sounds something like the root metaphors I described in my post Finding Words that Work in Tech PR.
[Affirmation] refers to the consensus of positive or negative truths about a business or brand.
Blackshaw further says:
…Wikipedia is rewriting the marketing script, because it’s far and away one of the Web’s most potent and powerful affirmation drivers. Once the primary domain of A-list bloggers and Web 2.0 elite, it’s now unmistakably penetrated the online masses. Even those who don’t use it are impacted by the conversation it shapes, online or off-.
All marketers should think hard about why Wikipedia matters, starting with affirmation.
He goes on to list the Ten Reasons to Care mentioned in the title.
It seems to me that one of the primary reasons PR folks in particular should care about Wikipedia is because it can provide a way to help defend reputations and brand. When we define our space or our brand on Wikipedia we can try to make sure the truths are fair and balanced.
As Blackshaw writes:
If everyone else is defining you on Wikipedia, you should be part of the process, too. If you’re not monitoring your Wikipedia entry daily, start doing it. You really need to get early experience on the platform to prime yourself for fast turnaround.
