[Wikimedia-l] Is Wikipedia's front page for sale?

http://www.dailydot.com/business/wikipedia-tony-ahn-pr-did-you-know/

Is Wikipedia's front page for sale?

By Tim Sampson on June 07, 2013

As the sixth-most visited website globally, Wikipedia is a hot piece
of digital real estate. The online encyclopedia is currently
struggling to address the rise of publicists and marketing agents who
turn a profit by generating articles on behalf of their clients.

"The fact is that Wikipedia's main page's multi-millions of pageviews
per year are being turned into a commodity by the PR industry," writes
Wikipedia Editor Tim Davenport, who goes by the username Carrite.
"That must stop."

Davenport was referring to this website for Tony Ahn & Co., a
marketing firm based out of the Philippines that offers to provide
Wikipedia pages for its clients. The company boasts a flawless record
of nominating pages to the highly sought after "Did You Know?" section
of Wikipedia's main page.

The company launched a little over a year ago to fill, what its
founder described as, "a dearth of people that could craft high
quality articles that met Wikipedia's standards for inclusion." For a
fee, the company will create a 600 to 800 word entry with citations,
references, and two client provided photos.

Profiting from the production of Wikipedia content has been a
notoriously touchy subject for Wikipedians in the past. Last year, a
board member of Wikimedia U.K. (an independent, nonprofit organization
that fosters the growth of Wikipedia projects in the United Kingdom)
was forced out over a conflict of interest involving his work as a
publicist for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.

But Ahn told the Daily Dot that his firm remains reverent of Wikipedia's rules.

"We're very careful to respect Wikipedia's processes for both article
creation and DYK nominations," Ahn said. "We neither charge extra for
a main page placement, nor do we advertise it as something we can do
for clients."

It's a narrow path to walk for Ahn and his firm. To avoid Wikipedia's
conflict of interest rules, he's not even directly allowed to post
articles that he or his employees have written for profit. Instead the
articles for Ahn's clients are written in a Wikipedia sandbox, then
presented to Wikipedians for review. These unpaid editors act as the
gatekeepers who decide if an article is up to snuff.

As far as main page appearances in the DYK section, Ahn is quick to
point out that none of his clients can pay to have their article
placed there. However, he said his firm has a perfect record of
nominating pages for DYK appearances that are then independently
chosen by other Wikipedians who deem the content worthy.

Ahn sees this kind of semi-sponsored content as essential for
celebrities, public figures, and businesses looking to manage their
online reputation.

"If you search for Coca Cola, for example, you notice that the
Wikipedia entry for Coca Cola is the first website that is not Coca
Cola-owned that appears. This is important from an online reputation
management standpoint, as ideally one wants every entry on the first
page of search results to be about one's brand. Wikipedia occupying a
high slot on page one of search results keeps something else off
page."

Although Ahn's tactics are—to most—technically within the rules, his
business-savvy approach to producing Wikipedia content has ruffled the
feathers of many who say his company is violating the spirit of
Wikipedia law.

In the discussion of these practices, Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales
had sharp criticism for anyone trying to manipulate Wikipedia for
profit, singling out Ahn and calling his actions a "disgrace." Wales
has reportedly demanded that Ahn not seek a place on the Wikimedia
Philippines board—a suggestion that Ahn has not taken.

"I think you're incredibly blase about the reputation of the project,"
Wales said to another editor trying to defend Ahn's tactics. "This is
completely and entirely unconvincing to me, and would be so to the
general public—with good reason. This whole approach to Wikipedia is
revolting."

Not everyone is in agreement with Wales. Ahn has many supporters,
who've defended him on Wikipedia forums, claiming "he's always been
open about all of his affiliations."

Some tried to move the debate away from Ahn's actions specifically,
instead raising the questions of whether Wikipedia can remain
completely devoid of sponsored material or if it even needs to in
order to maintain its reputation.

"Wikipedia is non-commercial, true, but that doesn't mean to say that
commercial interests shouldn't contribute to Wikipedia as long as
content requirements are met," wrote Wikipedian Prioryman.

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