On 30/08/05, Mark Pellegrini <mapellegrini(a)comcast.net> wrote:
I'm more than a little suprised that no one is
angry about the fact that
companies admit to subtle PR-pushing on Wikipedia. ("planting of viral
information in entries, modification of entries to point to new
promotional sites or 'leaks' embedded in entries to test diffusion of
information.") Where's the outrage? Why aren't people upset about this?
Because we had the outrage, ooh, about three weeks ago. You remember,
a week before we all got outraged either for or against
[[Wikipedia:WikiProject For Getting Everyone Wound Up]]? ;-)
I believe the general opinion was "of course it happens"; there's not
much we can do about it, *beyond what we already do*, with the caveat
that if someone finds a particularly impressive set they'd probably
have a good reason to kick up a fuss.
But, as Daniel pointed out, being able to do this is a far cry from
being able to do this on a systematic scale... or successfully.
"I can call spirits from the vasty deep."
"Why, so can I, or so can any man;
But will they come when you do call for them?"
"I can plan viral marketing in the vasty Wikipedia..."
"Why, so can I, or so can anyone..."
--
- Andrew Gray
andrew.gray(a)dunelm.org.uk