Wikipedia Smickapedia

This week Wikipedia came to bother me. “All” associations should have a presence in Wikipedia, right? Aren’t we told that at conferences and in publications? Isn’t it “common knowledge” among the social media savvy? (Who knows, maybe it out of vogue now, it’s been a few months since I attended a conference). It’s on my “to do” list: write Wikipedia entry on FPI.

But this week, when I started to think about how I would write up my association’s wiki entry, I started to wonder, “why?” What’s the big deal? Does anyone really care if my association is in Wikipedia? Who looks at Wikipeida and searches for an association? Wouldn’t you want members and potential to just go to your website? Are they really going to search for you in Wikipeida and not Google or some other search engine? The media isn’t (shouldn’t use it) to find info on you—after all, it’s really not considered credible by many. What really is the point? Is it to show off a meaningless trophy entry?

It got me thinking that a Wikipedia entry on every association is pretty much just a waste of time (it’s not a one size fits all).

That’s not to say your association shouldn’t look at Wikipedia. I’ve been mulling around the idea of writing a Wikipedia entry on foodservice packaging in general: Why we use it, why we need it, the history behind it, etc. Stuff your average Joe or Josephine on the street might be interested in (if they are the tea drinker sort who is interested in historical odds and ends). 

I guess in a way it will serve to promote the products our members make and I will link back to my association’s website (since that’s where I will get some of my reference sources). But that’s not the goal and I won’t be writing a “marketing piece.” I intend to write mainly a history of the industry and possible future so as not to bias the article. If others want to come along and add why a certain product is good or bad, better or worse than another, etc… so be it. I will only monitor and step in to fix factual errors or add the “other side” of the story if someone puts things in an overly negative light (this happens a lot in an industry that is often demonized). In other words, I will plant the seed, let it grow, and see if I get a flower or a wilted failure—only stepping in to weed prune every now and then.

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