I wanted to share a Wikipedia moment from last week. I was at a small reception hosted by LookSmart for Jimmy Wales at a local restaurant in San Francisco. He was on hand to talk about his new search strategy and field questions from the audience.Afterwards, I approached Jimmy about a frustration I have with the Wikipedia Conflict of Interest (COI) policy. And he was amenable to listen.As most PR professionals know, the COI prohibits corporate representatives from making additions and edits to company pages on Wikipedia. My point is where you work shouldn't necessarily disqualify you from being a contributor.Now I know that companies can spin the truth or just plain misrepresent it, but individuals unassociated with a company don't have a monopoly on truth or accuracy either.There are times when companies should be able to insert changes without going through a complex process. And those changes should not be relegated to a side bar that most users will not see or look for.So halfway through my plea Jimmy's cigar goes out. By the time he successfully relights his cigar, he agrees that I have a point, admitting that he himself has experienced similar challenges. I don't expect any immediate change to the COI policy, but at least that evening I had won a moral victory for corporate communications professionals everywhere.Let me get back to you.Technorati Tags: Jimmy Wales;Wikipedia;Wikipedia Conflict of Interest;Save to del.icio.us
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