How to Make your Name Appear on Wikipedia Page
Today, back to school day, I sit down at my office and visit my blog which is dying during the holidays. Among the google search terms leading here, I see “appear in wikipedia”, which therefore inspires me this post this article.
To put it simply, and for those who are lazy to read the following, the answer is: There is no way to individually make your name appear on Wikipedia and Seeking to appear on Wikipedia will only cause you to disappear there. For the serious and detailed answer, there is also a Wikipedia help page on autobiographies as well as expert Wikipedia writers for hire
I think there are Three Main Categories of People who may have Questions about Autobiographies:
The stranger, like Kévin Dumol, who wants to impress friends by showing that he, has his head on Wikipedia.
The small entrepreneur whether he is a head of a small business, a seed artist, or a webmaster. He would like to benefit from the ostentatious and above all free publicity of a Wikipedia article, like his competitors that he keeps citing: Nike, The Beatles, or Facebook.
The one who sees for the first time, that he already has a Wikipedia article about himself. The first category, it will go quickly. Akin to vandalism, because in no way encyclopedic, this kind of edition is without hope for the Kévin. You don’t need to try to appear on Wikipedia, Kevin. It’s Wikipedia, not Facebook (though…).
A biographical article only exists if it is about a personality, and not about some common people.
Wikipedia concept of Notoriety Criterion
Then comes the category of people at the limit. Obscure company, little-known artist, etc. In a previous post about the pages to delete, I had already discussed the Wikipedia concept of Notoriety Criterion. To make it short and simple, on Wikipedia, we want encyclopedic articles, and not just anything (it seems). We must therefore (?) Put limits between what is acceptable and what is too small to be part of an encyclopedia. These limits are the Notoriety Criteria.
Of course, these criteria remain vague, and there are many cases which border on these criteria.
Here, for example, companies and artists. It is true that having a serious Wikipedia article is free, ranks at the top of google searches, so a good ad. It is indeed a pity that the neighbor who has published two music albums has this publicity, while having published only one album, one does not have this publicity. Certainly, this reinforces the gap between those who have a Wikipedia article and those who do not. Still, I think it’s a lot less serious than it looks like it does.
The criteria of notoriety do not widen so much the gap between those who have an article and those who do not. For example, imagine that I am a small manufacturer of a carbonated soda without alcohol. I could be outraged not to have an article on Wikipedia, while Coca-Cola has an article (quite detailed, incidentally).
But if people come across this Wikipedia page creation service, it’s because the brand is already well known to them, independent of Wikipedia. We are not talking about a competitor of the same caliber here. To be a little fairer, I could be indignant that my competitor Sinalcohas a Wikipedia article. But here I challenge you to come across this article on google without looking for the brand name directly. (The best I get on google is Breizh Cola, like what these Bretons are strong).
Not to mention that there must be around 1 person per week that falls on this page, as the article’s view rates show (let’s not forget that there are many bots that visit wikipedia pages. less than 10 visits per day, that often means 0 human being). Very small audience, Google indexing ultimately not so good, Wikipedia is not a good advertising agent.
Still wanted to be featured on Wikipedia. How to do?
But suppose despite this rant, you still wanted to be featured on Wikipedia. How to do? Well, above all, you must not try to create your own article . Indeed, it is very frowned upon, because taken as an attempt to use Wikipedia to advertise. (Come on, that’s what you wanted to do, admit it) And the Wikipedians, vast troop of men and women ( and cats) of the common people, simple and anonymous, like to stay in the shade, and therefore hate advertising.
The best thing to do to appear on Wikipedia and not to try to create the article yourself. Be good at your business, expand yourself, and you will end up having a Wikipedia article and not knowing it. Which then brings us to the last category, on the other side of the Notoriety Criteria barrier.
“ “Avoid your article like the plague!” “
You may one day find that a Wikipedia article about you, or your business, or your music group, exists on Wikipedia. At first glance, we who are on the other side of the notoriety barrier, we say to ourselves, “That’s pretty cool, isn’t it? “. But you know that celebrity has a pretty dark side to it. A bit like in the tabloid press, the Wikipedia article may mention both the good points that have raised you above ordinary people as well as the sensitive little anecdotes that you are sometimes criticized for.
And yet, The Golden Rule!
For those who have a biography on Wikipedia, is and should remain Indeed, I have so far never seen an altercation between celebrity and Wikipedia’s that turns out well.
The examples are numerous: Cécile Duflot , Mano Solo , Hélène Cuvigny , to cite examples that I have seen with my own eyes (and I hope they will not mind me citing them here). Even Jimmy Wales , founder of Wikipedia, is no exception to this rule.
Generally, the subject of the biography wants to modify certain passages of his biography. But from an external point of view, that is to say without a source that can be consulted by all, it is difficult to know if it is a correction made all the time by the author, or an essay to cover up a truth that hurts. Let us not forget, Wikipedians are a mass of anonymous.
And there is nothing more fun for an anonymous person than using their good knowledge of the community and the Wikipedia rules to hinder the process of being famous.
To tell the truth, Wikipedians even tend to forget one of their fundamental rule which is “Assume good faith”, when they see someone editing their own biography. Doubt is the Wikipedian’s first reaction to this kind of editing, often followed by undo edits, discussions, verbal wars, and blocking, which of course is the blocking of the celebrity account, since it does not know how Wikipedia works, or the Wikipedians themselves. So if you have a biography about you on Wikipedia, run away from it, never look at the page, and you will always do better.
Let's get writing! The Autobiographer Personal Growth EIU Perspectives
