[Update: Version 2 of the Wikipedia guidance was published May 2014.]
I'm delighted that the first comprehensive guidance to public relations practitioners on engaging with the Wikipedia community is published today by the CIPR. Here's the process we've gone through:
> Early January 2012 – The CIPR Social Media panel meets and recognises that current guidance is lacking (see my post of 6th January)
> Mid-January 2012 – PR Week's Editor in Chief, Danny Rogers, calls on the CIPR to clarify its guidance to members, and the profession more widely ("CIPR must set bar high on Wikipedia code")
> January - April 2012 – The Social Media panel's Gemma Griffiths leads the development of a first draft of guidance; "something to shoot at"
> 12th May 2012 – Neville Hobson and I take part in the Wikimedia UK AGM to call for their help in working up the guidance (see my post of 14th May)
> 14th May 2012 – The first draft is uploaded to Wikimedia UK's wiki
> To 24th June 2012 – We collaborate with Wikimedians on more than 160 edits on the back of a discussion page running to more than twelve thousand words.