"Wikipedia and Public Relations: A New Framework"—Industry roundtable discussion for Friday, Feb. 7
For as long as Beutler Ink has existed (and in fact, even before that that) our founder and team have sought to find ways to bridge the gap in understanding between companies (and similar organizations) and Wikipedia, the collaboratively-edited online encyclopedia. To further this goal, William Beutler will be convening a roundtable on Friday, February 7th, intended to bring this conversation into real life: "Wikipedia + Public Relations: A New Framework".
Invited participants will discuss setting the stage for an improved dialogue about the relationship between the PR industry and Wikipedia, both in terms of dialogue among members of the PR industry, and dialogue between the PR professionals and Wikipedia's community. One principal short-term goal of the event is the discussion and crafting of a statement of ethics to be joined by participating agencies.
Other key areas of focus include:
Wikipedia:Conflict of interest—An official guideline of the English Wikipedia giving advice to those who have close relationships (financial or otherwise) to certain topics.
Wikipedia:Plain and simple conflict of interest guide—An information page on the English Wikipedia offering advice to those with a financial conflict of interest.
Conflict of interest editing on Wikipedia—An encyclopedia article about the history of "COI" on Wikipedia, including a list of newsworthy examples.
Digital public relations professionals confirmed include Michael Bassik, U.S. Digital Practice Chair at Burson-Marsteller and CEO of Proof Integrated Communications; Phil Gomes, Senior Vice President at Edelman; and Samuel Huxley, SVP, Digital at Fleishman-Hillard. Also attending will be representatives of the Wikipedia community, including Andrew Lih, Associate Professor of Journalism, American University.
For more information, please contact William Beutler at william@beutlerink.com.
