Brandstorm would like to welcome David King to the show. David is the founder of Ethical Wiki, a Wikipedia consultancy that was started in 2011. In this episode, David talks about the online encyclopedia, what subject matter qualifies for a great page and Wikipedia’s best practices. 

David King
David is the founder and lead consultant at Ethical Wiki. Before starting the Wikipedia consultancy, David spent five years doing public relations and marketing for Silicon Valley technology companies and becoming an expert on Wikipedia. 

Wikipedia
David discusses the concerns Wikipedia editors have with what companies write about themselves, what is generally seen as a “red flag” to editors, how pages are ranked, how he works with companies and agencies to create pages, how Wiki polices itself and what to do in the event erroneous or inflammatory information is published to a page.

Ethical Best Practices
The primary ethical best practices of Wikipedia can be summarized in three categories. David discusses each of these points in detail.

  1. Legal
  2. Disclosure
  3. Ethos

Consultant vs. DIY
Since anyone can edit a Wikipedia page, it is possible for brands to contribute and manage the page themselves. David reviews the process of doing it yourself versus hiring a consultant and offers insight on how to choose the right option. He also shares contact information for Wikipedia, should a brand come across defamatory information posted to their page.

Contact David King:
Email: dking@ethicalwiki.com
Website: http://www.ethicalwiki.com/