Wikipedia | S J Miller Communications

After reading a PC World article called “The 15 Biggest Wikipedia Blunders,” I’m not so sure that I want to recommend Wikipedia for book promotion any longer.

Can a book promotion campaign thrive without the inclusion of a Wikipedia entry? Well, it’s beginning to seem as though it could — especially in light of the fact that Wikipedia (according to the PC World article) reported that Ted Kennedy had passed away in January. We know, from this week’s wall-to-wall Ted Kennedy coverage, that the awful event didn’t take place until the wee hours of Tuesday morning — that’s Tuesday morning of August, not January. (You can see the updated Wikipedia entry for Ted Kennedy, which now appears to be correct, here.

By now, you’ve discovered Wikipedia. Whatever you think of Wikipedia — whether you love it or hate it — you’ve surely noticed that, regardless of what you’re “googling,” a Wikipedia entry almost always seems to turn up first in the search results.

We all know that (to be polite about it) Wikipedia’s information is only as good as those who have contributed to its entries. That, of course, can be anyone, which is why “Wikipedia” is called a “wiki.” It’s produced by anyone with something to add, which means that Wikipedia shouldn’t be your primary source of information. It’s just not as reliable as it would be if, say, it couldn’t be updated instantly, by anyone, at any time (although, in fairness, the site’s editorial board to try to keep an eye on those updates and have even challenged some of my entries when I’ve inadvertently “under”-footnoted).

I’ve touted Wikipedia as a book promotion tool.

A seemingly odd, but nonetheless worthwhile, book promotion idea.

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