How to create a stir with Wikipedia

By Stephen Pate, NJN Network, Charlottetown, PEI Canada, January 23, 2009 It’s easy to get some free publicity with Wikipedia. You just post something they don’t like, they take it down and you report that in the media. Instant attention. Although I hadn’t planned it that way, it’s what happened when juvenile Wiki editors hit my stubborn streak. Wiki War hits Disability Alert It gave Disability Alert national media attention across Canada. Apparently the Wiki editor sits in his room pouring over Wiki entries 18 hours a day, that is when he’s not working as a stooge for the Conservative Party. TechDirt reports that a rock band got lots of free publicity the same way. “…eventually one of the band’s fans wrote one about them — and it was deleted later that day because the band wasn’t, according to Wikipedia editors, “notable.” Cue the newspaper article… and then the follow-up, saying the band was back in Wikipedia, with an entry linking to the original story.” After my Wiki war got national Canadian media attention, some newspapers sent a memo banning Wiki quotes which is a smart move.