Sixty percent of Wikipedia articles for companies and clients of respondents who were familiar with them had factual errors. That surprising number, and more, can be found in the infographic below, which is based on a research study of the relationship between public relations professionals and Wikipedia. The study is published in the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) scholarly publication, Public Relations Journal.

The research was conducted by Marcia W. DiStaso, Ph.D., co-chair of PRSA’s National Research Committee and an assistant professor of public relations at Penn State University in State College, Pa. DiStaso surveyed 1,284 public relations professionals from PRSA, the International Association of Business Communicators, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, the Institute for Public Relations and the National Investor Relations Institute to assess their working relationship with Wikipedia. The Arthur W. Page Center at Penn State’s College of Communications funded the research.

Read the press release.

An article explaining the implications of that study is available through the Institute for Public Relations.

Wikipedia’s “Bright Line” Rule For PR Pros

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Continue reading " Infographic: Measuring PR Pros’ Engagement with Wikipedia "

Editor’s note: The following post is an excerpt from an op-ed published Feb. 3, 2012, in Techdirt.

Obscured amidst the hysteria over anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA has been a valuable discussion bubbling up within public relations about PR people editing clients’ Wikipedia entries.

It’s a topic that has been debated for years. From Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales stating in 2006 that “PR firms editing Wikipedia is something that we frown upon very, very strongly” to last year’s Bell Pottinger lobbying scandal, where it emerged that the firm was surreptitiously manipulating client’s Wikipedia entries — raising the ire of Mr. Wales and his Wikipedia acolytes — it’s a discussion that seemingly knows no end.

PR people have long been frustrated by the complexities of the Wikipedia editing process. Colleagues tell us they feel rebuffed by what they believe is an arcane system meant to ostracize them whenever they attempt to correct inaccurate or outdated employer or client entries.

The issue over edits made on Wikipedia is one that affects more than just the public relations profession. It has implications for every business, organization and institution around the world, given Wikipedia’s widespread use as an information resource.

The matter gained particular prominence recently when Phil Gomes, an executive at Edelman Digital, began to peel back the layers of distrust and confusion between PR people and Wikipedians with a blog post and Facebook group aimed at bringing together the sparring parties.

Gomes’ initiative, dubbed the Corporate Representatives for Ethical Wikipedia Engagement, is based on four pillars:

1. Corporate communicators want to do the right thing.
2. Communicators engaged in ethical practice have a lot to contribute.
3. Current Wikipedia policy does not fully understand Nos. 1 and 2, owing to the activities of some bad actors and a general misunderstanding of public relations in general.
4. Accurate Wikipedia entries are in the public interest.

It’s a noble effort and one that my organization, the Public Relations Society of America, wholeheartedly supports.

Read the full op-ed in Techdirt.

Continue reading " Making the Case for PR Pros Editing Wikipedia "

PR professionals were inundated this week with news about the movement to thwart the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). On Wednesday, social forums like Wikipedia and Reddit blacked out their sites in protest of the bills. Even Google acquired 45 million signatures for its anti-SOPA petition. For many PR pros, the challenge was how to react to an issue that may affect the way communication professionals do their job.

PRSA’s inaugural “Friday Five” blog post — an analysis of the week’s big news and commentary in the PR profession — looks at various perspectives on the issue. We also examine how social media has become a vital resource for enforcing accountability among political candidates and government.

It’s time for the PR profession to join the opposition to SOPA and PIPA (Shel Holtz / A Shel of My Former Self)

PR pro and blogger Shell Holtz raised the banner that PR pros should take a stand against any legislation that threatens the freedom of expression on the Net. Holtz notes that SOPA will have a large impact on anyone who uses social media tools to communicate, including PR pros. It’s become very easy to post a video from YouTube or share photos with friends via Slideshare.  However, under SOPA, Internet service providers could be ordered to block the domain name, which means that once YouTube, Slideshare, or any other social domain goes dark, your links and pictures on Facebook and Twitter will go dark as well. So where do we draw the line between social governance and blacking out a person’s ability to do their job?

Related:

• PRSA Statement in Opposition of SOPA and PIPA
• #SOPA and #PIPA: Separating the Real from the Rhetoric (PRSAY)
  

Continue reading " Friday Five: #SOPA and The New Tech PR Paradigm "

While Rob Walker’s analysis, in last weekend’s edition of The New York Times Magazine, of the potential benefits from negative publicity following the Gap’s recent logo misstep was a good read on a timely topic, he makes the same mistake that lots of folks seem to do: equating the function of publicity with the concept of public relations.

I poll my “Introduction to Public Relations” class at the beginning of each term, and most of them think that the terms “publicity” and “public relations” are interchangeable — by the end of the course, they know better. Understanding the mix-up is easy — lots of sources get it all wrong and add to the confusion (Wikipedia is one of many), although some (Merriam-Webster Online, among others) present more accurate definitions.

Continue reading " Dispelling Stereotypes & Misinformation About Public Relations "