By Nathalie Collida and Andreas Kolbe
You wouldn’t think of Wikipedia as an “extra creamy” website, but that is the term that professional Wikipedia writing company Wiki-PR, recently banned from Wikipedia, used on its website to advertise its services. In what appears at first glance like a badly written article on the history and various uses of yogurt, the narrative then takes an abrupt turn. It reads like this:
Yogurt is of foodstuff whose origins are shrouded in the mists of time. While there is no exact record as to when milk was first fermented into its yoghurt form, there is evidence from as early as 2000 BC of yogurt being produced and eaten.
In the present day, yogurt is available in an array of varieties and flavors. By utilizing different milks it has been possible to meet all kinds of specific dietary need. For those who are trying to lose weight, low calorie options are available, providing a sweet and healthy treat with which to end a meal.
As a dairy product manufacturer is vital that customers have access to accurate and unbiased information about both your brand ethos and your commitment to high quality production. A straightforward way to get this message across to consumers is to make a Wikipedia page. Utilizing the enormous popularity of Wikipedia means that you can easily and simply convey essential information about your company and your products in a format that is widely recognized and easily understood.
For many businesses, the question of how to get on Wikipedia can be troublesome to resolve. Wikipedia has a number of rules and guidelines that are designed to oversee who and what qualifies for a page of their own. Attempts to create a page without following these guidelines can result in the page being deleted, and in the worst case scenario, in bad publicity for the company involved.
Needless to say, this is then followed by an invitation to engage the services of Wiki-PR.
While this may seem strange to you, it’s part and parcel of the world of Search Engine Optimization – the terms in the seemingly illogical article are apt to make the site a top result in a potential web search by, say, a dairy manufacturer looking for a way to have their company represented on Wikipedia.
How about Wikipedia Carbonara? Canned Wikipedia, anyone? Wikipedia for television and stage entertainers? And how do I get politicians listed on Wikipedia? Or my band?
More and more people are realising that Wikipedia is about as good as it gets in terms of free advertising. And paid writers are casting their net.
After having been discussed at the CREWE (Corporate Representatives for Ethical Wikipedia Engagement) Facebook group, as well as on our forum, these pages have mysteriously blinked out of existence. But Google doesn’t forget so quickly: this page will give you access to the Google cache links to some of these pages, for your reading pleasure. They all contain the phrase, “How do I get on Wikipedia”. Just click on the little green downward arrow under each page title, and select “Cached”.
Get your Extra Creamy Wikipedia now! These links will decay soon.
Image credit: Schwäbin, Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons CC-by-sa-3.0 de
I take it you saved HTML or screenshots of these pages? Always do that, especially if you’re going to write about it and it is in danger of being deleted, or is taken from a Google or archive.org cache.
And I’d like to see someone from Wiki-PR (other than Mike) show up here and comment.
Screenshots were taken. The content has also been publicly discussed by now, in several places.
Good, and funny.