I was in a blog!

While editing a wikipedia page today, I searched for a policy on handling . One of the links was a blog entry semi-related to that topic, so I clicked. Someone claimed my company was doing some wikipedia astroturfing. Again, I clicked. It turns out the astroturfing was actually me throwing in my $0.02. Great.

The lessons to learn:

• Never edit company-related content.
• Full disclosure. On discussion pages, disclose that you work for them, but are not representing them.
• Companies should create wikipedia accounts for matters like this. While there may be a conflict of interest, wikipedia allows everyone to participate. Companies should create accounts so that they can show their official position while respecting the process.
• Wikipedia users apply guidelines when they support their position.
  

Lucky for me, no one reads blogs (my adsense account can attest to this), and the blog entry never even got close to being news. This is the kind of thing people lose paychecks over.