Business Notability in Wikipedia
How to Determine if a Company is Encyclopedic Enough for Inclusion
Sep 11, 2009
In addition to being the sixth most popular website and the first encyclopedia that anybody can edit, Wikipedia is the only encyclopedia that has developed specific standards for measuring notability of a subject. Many businesses which try (and fail) to get entries about themselves in Wikipedia are unaware of the roadmap that these notability criteria provide, resulting in a swift deletion of those efforts. A subject is only notable if it is discussed by reputable third parties, such as newspapers and textbooks; sources such as a business' own website, blogs, and other self-published material is not sufficient to prove the case for a company remaining in Wikipedia.
The process of establishing notability can be frustrating, not only because the specific criteria change over time, but because the interpretation and enforcement of those criteria is often inconsistent. More obscure topics have become flash points for intense debates about notability among Wikipedians.
Ways to Establish Notability
According to the official notability policy, “If a topic has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, it is presumed to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article.” To put this another way, a business can be considered notable only if it's being talked about elsewhere – in “newspaper articles, books, television documentaries, and published reports by consumer watchdog organizations” which don't have an interest in the business and are able to discuss is neutrally.
These are considered secondary sources – one step removed from the subject and able to analyze it academically. All encyclopedias, including Wikipedia, rely upon secondary sources; Wikipedia's policy is that “articles may include analytic, synthetic, interpretive, explanatory, or evaluative claims if they have been published by a reliable secondary source.”
Reliability and Verifiability are two very important aspects of the notability criteria, and deserve special mention.
- Reliability is a measure of how trustworthy any given source is. The New York Times is generally considered reliable, as are prominent academic journals; The National Enquirer may not be considered as reliable by Wikipedia editors.
- Verifiability is how easy it is to confirm any claims made by a source. Again, academic works are a good example, because they contain extensive bibliographies and are generally peer-reviewed for accuracy.
Establishing notability in Wikipedia is somewhat similar to establishing a high PageRank in Google. The search engine evaluates inbound links in part by the PageRank of the sites they're coming from. Along the same lines, the notability of a subject is measured in part by the notability of the sources which talk about the subject. In other words, the most notable of businesses, such as Microsoft, are notable because they're being talked about by the most notable of sources, such as the Wall Street Journal. National and regional sources weigh more heavily than narrower publications, such as local newspapers.
What Doesn't Help Establish Notability
Given that it's easiest to establish notability using sources that are themselves notable, there are certain sources that simply will not help meet the standard. In particular, self-published sources are not considered reliable.
- Blogs, even written on otherwise reliable sites, are self-published and not generally able to meet the verifiability standard.
- Company promotional materials, including its own web site, blogs, white papers, and newsletters, are primary sources, and as such are simply too close to the subject.
- Press releases are written either by or for the business, and are easily self-published online. However, articles written by journalists who read those press releases are fair game.
- Internal Wikipedia links, although encouraged for navigation, in no way help a subject meet the notability standard.
Many profitable and popular businesses do not meet the notability criteria for Wikipedia, but manage to thrive regardless. If one is uncertain if a particular company should be included, it's always a good idea to talk to an experienced Wikipedia editor or two before investing the effort in writing the entry.
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