3 Reasons to Double Check Wikipedia Information

Mobile technology has paired with the internet to give any unfiltered access to the internet. Access to the internet has resulted in a large variety of information being made available to just about anyone that searches it out. One popular destination for users looking for information is Wikipedia, which means that companies, organizations, and individuals should visit their Wikipedia site and check it for accuracy, references, and completeness. This task is necessary because the site is user created and edited which means virtually anyone can update or change the information being presented to the world. Therefore, the chance for inaccurate or incomplete information exists for professionals and organizations. For example, Mukesh Valabhji has worked hard to attain prominence and verifying the accuracy of what is written online is a value-added task.

Accuracy

User generated content is usually not a huge issue for companies and organizations. However, Wikipedia is a site that receives thousands upon thousands of views, which means there is a great amount of exposure on the site. That being said, everyone with something at stake should take a few minutes and read through any pages involving the company or themselves. In addition to proper spelling, companies need to be certain that factual information is included and the content does not reflect any opinions that might have been inadvertently included by the author. After all, incorrect information can present a hurdle for any organization when it is viewed by enough people.

References

While traditional media sites use great care to cite sources and clarify references, user generated or curated sites have a certain degree of leniency. With that fact in mind, companies and organizations should check the references or links cited at the bottom of their Wikipedia page. Basically, anything that jumps out as not being an official source of information will likely need to be corrected. With the amount of pages offering up statistics and other data, many organizations are surprised by just how much information is available online. Therefore, checking the data to make sure it is correctly cited and truthful goes a long way in the credibility of Wikipedia and the subject of the page.

Completeness

One of the most common issues with Wikipedia pages is a lack of complete information. Pages can be short and unpleasing to the eye. Along those lines organizations and businesses can flesh out the content or add in additional details. The page should present enough relevant information to be helpful to the average user, but at the same time provide advanced researchers destinations to get additional depth for the information on the page. Walking the fine line between too much and too little information can be tricky, but most organizations and users find a complete profile a little more helpful.

In the end, technology is an ever present force in the world. Because the internet is a large piece of the technology puzzle, businesses can simply not afford to ignore what is being written about the organization. In short, taking a few minutes or hours each day to double check the accuracy of content can go a long way in simplifying public relations, customer relations, and marketing efforts. Sites like Wikipedia require special care thanks to the nature of the site and amount of traffic they receive, but accurate information is generally worth the effort.

Published by Kidal Delonix (1201 Posts)

Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.