eric tatro dot com

I’m a huge Wikipedia fan. If you’ve never used it, check it
out. It’s a collaboratively edited internet encyclopedia, and it’s a fantastic
resource for gaining detailed, accurate information about almost anything you
can imagine. I’m consistently amazed at the info they have on fairly obscure
people, places, events, and so on.

I was disappointed to learn that a fake entry may have been
added to Wikipedia as part of a viral marketing scheme for a “BBC online
alternate reality game.” In an anonymous comment on BoingBoing, a reader confesses
that his company, which didn’t appear to be involved in the incident in
question, has altered Wikipedia as part of viral marketing campaigns. The reader confessed that he
doesn’t “necessarily have a problem with (Wikipedia) used as a viral marketing tool.”

A lot of “viral marketing” I’ve seen has been really
interesting. When done well, everybody wins. I immediately think of the “Subservient
Chicken” game by fast-food giant Burger King. In it, a user could enter
commands into a text field, and a man dressed in a giant chicken costume would perform
the command. It was creative and entertaining, and I can’t tell you how many
people linked to it from their blogs or e-mailed me about it.

I see the altering of Wikipedia for marketing purposes as
irresponsible and crass, and hope that a clear message is sent to other marketers
who might have similar ideas. Frankly, I hope the “campaign” backfires so other
marketers will realize that dishonest tactics like these simply won’t work.

UPDATE:
Rob Cooper, the Senior Producer on the game in question, wrote into BoingBoing to clarify that the altering of Wikipedia was not done as part of a marketing effort, but was the action of a "fan of the game getting into the spirit of alternative reality a little too much." Although I’m relieved that this instance wasn’t part of a marketing campaign, my original point still stands. Viral marketers must be careful not to engage in dishonest or misleading activities to promote their products. Informed consumers won’t stand for it.