Determining how to best handle Wikipedia entries when you are in public relations remains challenging. Wikipedia articles continue to load at the top in search results as Wikipedia remains the sixth most popular website in the world. This makes it a site not to be ignored, and the impact of Wikipedia can be especially profound … Continue reading Rules for Wikipedia Editing for Public Relations
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All posts by Marcia W. DiStaso

Wikipedia and public relations professionals have a long history. Since at least 2006, Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, has asked public relations professionals to follow the “bright line” rule and make requests for changes to their company or client’s Wikipedia page through “Talk” pages instead of directly editing. In 2012, I conducted a survey of … Continue reading There’s Improvement, but Problems with Wikipedia’s Bright Line Rule Continue →

McCorkindale, Tina M.; DiStaso, Marcia W.; & Fussell Sisco, Hilary (2013). How Millennials are engaging and building relationships with organizations on Facebook. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 2(1), 67-87. Summary More than half of Facebook’s 900 million active users in the U.S. consist of the Millennial generation (ages 13 to 29). With more … Continue reading How Millennials are engaging and building relationships with organizations on Facebook →

DiStaso, Marcia W., & McCorkindale, Tina M. (2013). A benchmark analysis of the strategic use of social media for Fortune’s Most Admired U.S. Companies on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Public Relations Journal, 7(1), 1-33. Summary By exploring the strategic use of social media for 250 of Fortune’s Most Admired U.S. Companies on Facebook, Twitter, and … Continue reading A benchmark analysis of the strategic use of social media for Fortune’s Most Admired U.S. Companies on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube →
The issue of public relations professionals editing Wikipedia is back in the spotlight following an article that accused BP of “rewriting environmental record on Wikipedia.” For years now, Wikipedia has asked public relations professionals not to directly edit articles of their company or clients. This is because they believe that public relations professionals have a … Continue reading Wikipedia and PR – Deciding what to do just got more difficult →

DiStaso, Marcia W.; McCorkindale, Tina; & Wright, Donald K. (2011). How public relations executives perceive and measure the impact of social media in organizations. Public Relations Review, 37, 325-328. Decisions about social media in organizations are not made lightly. Corporate executives are faced with an ever changing and in many cases, uncontrollable opportunity with social … Continue reading How public relations executives perceive and measure the impact of social media in organizations →

DiStaso, Marcia Watson, & Bortree, Denise Sevick (2012). Multi-method analysis of transparency in social media practices: Survey, interviews and content analysis. Public Relations Review. 38(3), 1-10. With the decline of public trust in corporate America, organizations must consider ways to improve their relationships with key publics. One of the best strategies to build trust is … Continue reading Multi-method analysis of transparency in social media practices: Survey, interviews and content analysis →

DiStaso, Marcia Watson (2012). Measuring public relations Wikipedia engagement: How bright is the rule? Public Relations Journal, 6(2), 1-22. Wikipedia has become almost a staple in society, and its prominence in search engines and frequency of use make it a very powerful website. This study explores the views, experiences and beliefs of public relations/communications professionals … Continue reading Measuring public relations Wikipedia engagement: How bright is the rule? →
To explore current public relations/communications practices with Wikipedia, I’m conducting a survey sponsored by the Arthur W. Page Center. My goal is to explore current engagement with Wikipedia and identify what changes are necessary. I started researching Wikipedia in 2006 with Marcus Messner, Virginia Commonwealth University, and we have been arguing for years that public … Continue reading Should Public Relations Professionals be Allowed to Edit Wikipedia Articles? →