Many people have famous or well-known faces, but that doesn’t necessarily get them a place in online encyclopedia articles. It takes more than just being famous to make it onto the internet!
Famous individuals can struggle to gain recognition because there are so many websites and information sources. Some don’t like their message or style of writing, while others lack quality coverage or fail to credit sources when giving details about someone.
Wikipedia is an invaluable source of knowledge for anyone. If you're looking to learn more about an individual, they are almost guaranteed to be found within its pages.
But before you start typing away, make sure your contribution is worth their time. They might not agree with your stance or may even dispute some claims made about you.
As mentioned earlier, the term “famous” can mean many different things to different people. What is considered famous may differ from person to person. For some, it’s having lots of followers on social media, for others it’s being able to buy a house with your own money, and still, other people consider making a million dollars their limit.
With that said, according to our data here at Wikia, you only need to be famous enough for someone else to create an article about you to get a free Wikipedia page!
That seems kind of crazy, right?
Well, yes, it does seem like overkill but there is a good reason why this happens. It's happening quite frequently as we speak!
It’s hard to overestimate just how much influence powerful celebrities have on society. They shape public perception of products, services, and ideologies. Their actions set examples that everyone copies or rejects.
For example, back when The Beatles were most popular, they made sure to always dress impeccably and do everything gracefully. This inspired other musicians and artists to follow suit and look professional while performing and promoting themselves.
Now that The Beatles aren’t actively touring anymore these lessons have gone out of style (or been forgotten) and some less-professional-looking bands have experienced a rise in popularity due to their artistic quality and stage presence.
Da Vinci’s legacy still lives on in many different ways. He left behind over 200 paintings, more than 30 sculptures, and around 6,000 drawings and sketches. His artistic career spanned six decades, making him one of the most prolific artists ever!
His talent was unmatched, he experimented with new styles and techniques constantly, creating works that blend realism with stylized or fantastical images.
He also designed machines such as helicopters, water turbines, and hydraulic systems — some of which are used today for engineering purposes. His designs have been so influential that engineers refer to them now under the term “da Vinci technology.”
In addition to being an artist, architect, inventor, engineer, and military tactician, he was also a writer, botanist, geologist, and musician.
There are only five things that qualify you for a Wikipedia page. They’re called “famous person articles,” and they go by the catchy title “What is a famous article?”
The first two require you to have received significant coverage in mass media or published material within the past seven years. A lot of different sources must attest to your fame.
If these conditions aren’t met, then it’s time to move on to the next criterion. And this one’s pretty easy to check off – you need to have at least 1 million followers on Instagram!
That means someone out there likes you and wants to see more of you. If you’ve got that many fans, then great! But if you don’t, then maybe it's time to start branching out and meeting some new people.
While some might feel that they have “earned” their place in history by leaving an impact on society, like most people who feel this way are not well-known enough to get their own Wikipedia page.
This can be quite frustrating as there are currently over 30 million people on earth with Wikipedia articles!
It seems like everyone and his/her dog has their moment in the sun when it comes to getting mentioned on the internet.
By now you probably know of at least one person who feels very deserving of such an honour. Perhaps you even feel more inclined to add them because they didn't receive media coverage before now.
That's normal and okay, but let me tell you something about being overlooked - It's pretty hard.
It's really difficult to deal with that kind of rejection and silence.
Many, if not most, of your favourite movies and TV shows, contain at least one or more cameo appearances by someone very well-known. A cameo is when an actor or actress appears for a short amount of time in a movie or show and usually gets little recognition.
But some actors and actresses feel compelled to donate their time to help promote the film or series they’re in. And sometimes, those small contributions get included in the finished product and publicized as part of the character or storyline.
These extras are referred to as “cameos” because they seem like brief glimpses into the life of the person who made the appearance. But you probably know already that these stars have large fan bases.
By appearing in a movie or show that has amassed a significant audience, their popularity can grow beyond just theirs alone. This is why it is so tough to ask any big-name celebrity to contribute time to promote a new project – even if they want to!
It does take being extremely famous to receive a good quality c0amie unless you are very well-connected. It is quite difficult to find anyone willing to do this outside of the entertainment industry insiders and close friends and associates of the talent.
So how hard is it to get a Wikipedia page? We decided to compare it to see.
Many people start their journey towards having their article on Wikipedia by trying to gain attention through social media or promoting themselves online.
Running an Instagram account, posting frequent status updates, and responding to comments is a good way to get new ‘followers’ and thus exposure for your brand.
But it's not enough just to have a ton of followers –– you need like-minded individuals to interact with you to create engagement.
Interacting with other users on social networking sites is a great way to achieve this.
This past week, the world was shocked to find out that there is no formal way to become famous enough to get your own Wikipedia page. According to an anonymous source within the Wikimedia Foundation, you only need to be very well-known or have done something significant before your death for someone else to create this fake entry about you.
This person’s name can never be mentioned while he/she still works at the WMF but they told us their job title was “Senior Editor.” He/She made sure to emphasize how important it was not to talk about this top-secret information outside of the WMF because it could hurt his/her career.
He/She also confirmed that this has been discussed in the offices many times before, most notably by media relations people who were tasked with getting media attention for the organization. They said it always generated quite some laughs.
However, now that these conversations are public, everyone feels bad about having fun at another person’s expense.
Many famous people have pages on Wikipedia, with biographies that include significant life events and stories of their careers. These profiles are referred to as encyclopedic because they cover important details about your subject’s life.
The process for creating these articles is very rigorous and requires many sources over an extended period. Therefore, before writing up a new biography, make sure you have done your research!
It is not enough to just look up their name and see what things you can find out about them. You should also search for their given names and any possible variations of those names. This includes both common and slang versions.
For example, if your article topic is Taylor Swift, then searching for her full first name would be adequate, but looking up “Taylor Swift” alone will probably not do. You need to use all three parts of her name so that the computer does not omit any vital information.
Another way to ensure quality content is by using reliable source material. Make sure to compare one source against another to verify facts. Peer review is a good method to use.
This may sound tedious, but it is worth its weight in gold.
