I've been dabbling in Wikipedia, primarily by creating and editing entries around records management and records managers. I just finished some minor edits to those entries. The beauty of Wikipedia is that it can enable professions such as our own an opportunity to have entries that are reasonably credible and explain what it is that we do. It's not perfect. With Wikipedia being open to the world and with records management having different meanings in different parts of the world, that can cause conflicts. In addition,  in the case of teh Records Management entry in Wikipedia, a number of vendors decided to post links to their websites, in some cases, deleting the websites of competitors. That's not good. (Wikipedia has subsequently deleted all vendor references to avoid commercialization.)
 
 A good Wikipedia entry is a collaborative effort. I'd encourage folks to take a look at the entries relating to our profession and contribute what they can. The Records Management entry isn't bad and is pretty well fleshed out, but certainly isn't finished. The Records Manager entry is just getting started. ARMA and the ICRM have entries and I would recommend that representatives of those organizations spend some time with their entries (please be very careful about cutting and pasting text from existing websites -- the Wikipedia organization has some very good programs that look for that sort of thing and will kill your entry if it is substantially the same as a copyrighted page elsewhere on the Web). Problem is, not a whole lot of folks are adding to these entries.
 
 The beauty of the process is that entries that are well-maintained are evergreen. It is possible to update an entry as changes in the profession happen and ensure that the entry reflects the latest and greatest bits of knowledge. A Wikipedia entry can also spin off numerous additional entries that further define a profession or the space around a profession. And, while everyone can be an author, everyone can be an editor, too. 
 
 I'd encourage folks who feel that they can add to this body of knowledge to do so.
 
 Patrick Cunningham, CRM

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