Clarity Strategic^TM

This week I created my first-ever Wikipedia page, for professional wrestler Gregory Iron (shown below), a friend of mine who's caught some media attention recently. In so doing, I learned some important principles. Or I thought they were important, anyway.

First: for all your teachers and college professors who don't buy into Wikipedia as a valid source for research, tell them from me that they're all wet. Wikipedia has strict policies in place to guard against plagiarism - more strict than those of some English professors I could name. If you are caught in the act, your article comes down, and so could your account.

Wikipedia also is very picky about what you can use for sources to cite for your article. I was not allowed to use the Examiner article I wrote about Iron - the link is above - because the Examiner is not a trusted source.

Second: Wikipedia is picky about the formatting of your article as well. If things are out of place, someone will come along and let you know, and poorly formatted articles - as well as those exhibiting bad spelling or grammar - will not see the light of day.

So. Ten steps to your very first.

1. account
2. need
3. sandbox
4. sources
5. license
6. format
7. notes
8. text
9. test
10. move

More meat on each step.

1. You have to start an account with Wikipedia to do anything. And, as does any member site, it has you create a profile. Nobody creates anything anonymously.
2. You have to assess the need for the article before you create it. Is the article there already? If it is, and you have some expertise, you can edit it. Does the article have some significance? You can't write about your friends, or your favorite movie or band - as such. An original Wikipedia article must be wiped clean of hype language, so it's not an advertising vehicle. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. If your subject has historical significance, you can write that up - and then your subject has some credibility that can be used in other (real) advertising.
3. The sandbox is where you practice all your formatting and layout. Nobody can see what's in there except you. And when you finish an article, you can ask to have it moved from the sandbox to Wikipedia proper. Very useful.
4. Your sources, as I said earlier, must be recognized as respectable by Wikipedia. Even online there are many - including news services. Those not respectable would include spammers and heavy advertisers.
5. Any media files you want to use you have to license to Creative Commons so anyone can use them. It's easy - but you still either have to have your own or explicit permission to assign them to Creative.
6. Formatting is a little less strict, but there are templates to make a difficult job easier, and I heartily recommend that you copy the format of a similar article when you design yours. I used that of another local pro wrestler, Johnny Gargano.
7. Notes are in a section toward the bottom where you define your sources, and the number of each source is referenced inline at the point of its use in the body of your writeup.
8. When you're set with all other areas above, then it's time to add your body text. Make sure to check the spelling and grammar. Use paragraphs too. Some writers don't, at least not enough for me.
9. Test frequently. Make small changes, save them, and look them over. You will save time in the long run, as you can trace a mistake easily.
10. When everything else is done, and you like the look and feel of the article, then you can apply to have it moved from the sandbox. That usually happens right away, but the article stays in a kind of observation mode, where editors will look at it and decide whether you're meeting standards.

This really is easy. But it's time-consuming. If you don't want to do it, of if you're concerned about grammar, clarity, or format, just hire me. I'm very reasonable. :-)

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