Meeting Jimmy

By , January 10 2012, 3:21 pm 7 Comments


I met up with Jimmy Wales for lunch
recently.



If you don’t know Jimmy, you’ll know his
work.




He is Mr Wikipedia.



Through his site he is helping make free information
available to the world.




And boy is he is succeeding.



Wikipedia is now one of the most-visited
websites in the world.



It has over 20 million articles that have
been co-created by over 100,000 regular contributors and experts.



And recently his site has become a bit of a
hot topic in the PR world.



Questions have been asked of what best
practice looks like for reputation management on Wikipedia.



Over lunch I asked Jimmy what he thought
about it all and how should agencies engage with Wikipedia in the best possible
way.



He distilled it down to just three words
for me.



“Respect the Community”.



For him it was that simple.



Wikipedia is a crowdsourced site where
thousands of people take the time to voluntarily research, submit and edit the
content.




He has no problem with paid-for PR practitioners putting a viewpoint across on
the site on behalf of clients if it is truthful and provides an alternative
perspective



But it needs to be done in an open and
transparent manner.



Practitioners can’t pretend to be everyday
members of the community if they are being paid for opinions.



That isn’t what Wikipedia is about.



It’s about the pursuit of truth and
knowledge in an open and honest manner.



And by simply respecting the community, you
won’t go far wrong.




@adamclyne


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  • Sam Pearce

    I like your fringe. 

    • Lorna Gozzard

      It is a nice fringe. But flattery won’t (usually) get you a job.

  • DilimaNetherwood

    Nice post – but I think there is one thing you’ve forgotten to mention.. perseverance ! I’ve literally, been trying to break into the Industry for the past couple of months. I’ve made it through to final grad schemes’, interviews etc.. It does get a bit disheartening when you get so close and don’t make it – but that’s what sets apart the people who do make it into the industry and don’t. 

    So for you fellow graduates seeking – keep at it! PR is about networking so try and volunteer at events such as Social Media Week and so forth. Good luck! 

    • Lorna Gozzard

      Really good point – it is tough at the moment, but it’s good to hear that you’re keeping going and not letting close misses put you off. I hope something comes up soon for you!

  • Ishawebber

    No.7. Great tip! I will start a role out of London next week.

  • Louisekitley

    Down to earth sensible advice. Like the business case for telephones analogy

  • Jacque Gerrard

    Great blog articulating a sensible and balanced view around the advantages of social media for professionals in healthcare.I work for a fab CEO who engages positively but runs herself ragged across four UK countries. I will point this blog in her direction and she may just “dip” her very small but effective toe in…..

    Jacque