Marquis Who's Who has existed since 1899 and contains short biographies of people who have notable achievements. However, in recent years some criticism arose regarding the selection process stating that it is neither rigorous nor meaningful and self nominators and thousands of people not particularly notable are included and that this is more for data fishing today.
Can anybody comment on or has personal experiences with Marquis Who's Who?
I got an invitation several years ago and (under pressure from my then-chair) submitted my biographical information. I was amazed at how many errors were in the biography Marquis returned to me for review, and several of the corrections I sent back had not been made in the published text. The people entering the data clearly did not recognize the honors or organizations they were typing into the system. If the point is data fishing, it's a poorly designed effort because the data available are very dirty indeed. I think one can go in and directly edit one's own bio on line, which means there is absolutely no control over whether those bios are accurate.
Although I've had some nice fellowships, etc., graduated from respectable institutions, and done some respectable work, I am definitely not eminent. I have no idea who nominated me. Since my former chair did not receive an invitation, I suspect that I was just on some list or other that was transformed uncritically into a list of prospects.
I'm skeptical that Who's Who is anything more than a money-making scheme that trades on Marquis' (former) reputation. As soon as my flawed bio was published, I was "invited" to order several very expensive copies to send to anyone I wanted to impress.
Dear Kristin,
thank you very much for the answer!
Your words reflect my impression. I got an invitation a while ago and was pretty surprised. Of course it sounds very nice but as I'm an early career scientist and hadn't invented something totally new and groundbreaking that made me skeptical and after reading some criticisms I decided not to accept the invitation.
You probably know, then, there are also lots of imitators using the same business model. I think you're wise just to ignore the invitation. Putting such things on your CV no doubt looks naive to anyone else who has had a similar experience, and especially since the bios are such a mess there is no other possible benefit.
Best of luck to you. May you have a lifetime of inventing and/or discovering many things totally new and groundbreaking.
To me, the various Marquis Who's Who editions (... in the World, of Science and Engineering, in America, etc.) are a very valuable source of biographical information. The volumes contain a lot of information, and for many scholars they offer the only biographical information which is available. This does not only concern contemporary scientists, but also those who have already deceased (especially in older volumes). Often, they contain information which is not given in obituaries - and in very many cases there is no obituary at all. I also do not agree that a Who's Who edition should only include "famous", "outstanding" etc. scientists. All those who contribute to science are worth being remembered, and in many historical studies you need also biographical data of less important people. For Nobel Prize laureates and similar, there is a wealth of information available, and I do not need the Who's Who editions in their cases.
With regard to quality of the entries, there is hope that the new possibility to edit your own data online would help.
So I encourage everyone to submit their own data. No one else would do this if you are not "famous". Otherwise future generations of historians may not find any biographical data of you.
Kind regards,
Wolfgang Dick
Totally non-sense !
I did not published a new paper in SCI in the last 5 years and only have science-popular articles written in Chinese. There is no way they can find my publications but they gave me this award!
"We are pleased to announce that Marquis Who's Who has selected you for our official 2017 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. You have been selected to receive this prestigious award as a result of your hard work and dedication to your profession."
If my memory is correct, I had been list on Who's Who in XXXX for more than 10 times, but I am really just a professor in a small-town university! I plays no significant parts in science.
It may be the least-disreputable of the growing ranks of vanity-stroking tomes, but that's not saying much.
Following an invitation for me to join received today, I did some background research (viz. changes in ownership since its earliest days as the US version of the UK originator) and then approached it as a hypothetical user. First finding (shock!): you have to login, and for that you have to subscribe.
Alas, the amount of biographical information obtainable over the internet has replaced that available to readers of published volumes in 1898, and any legitimately interested person (journalist, etc.) can email us or phone us or ask for our CV.
The day of the professional newspaper obituary writer has largely passed, so we have to ask: who would pay to be able to access detailed biographical information of nearly 100,000 'notable people' other than contact information re-sellers and mass emailers?
It has no sense that you have to pay USD 800 to recieve the award.
this post was very helpful thank you everybody for your contribution
If they charge you USD 800 it will be a gimmick and a money making fraud. Otherwise, does not sound that bad if they do not charge you money. Also, now a days Google scholar and research gate provide you plenty of exposure free of charge.
So I was contacted to be part of this self-claimed "exclusive club" of excellent researchers... However I didn't get any good impression of the process. While is probably ok to have a nice biography published, only members of this club will see it, most likely not people you need to be networking if you work in research. They have a lists of "services" that go from~300U$ to be part of the network and then several add-ons that can add up to 900U$ if you want an engraved plaque with your name on.
The person that called was evidently a marketing person that had no idea about the institution I work in (which is national government agency reference in National and international Public Health policy), and made me basic questions about the topic of my research, so she had clearly not even read my on line available line of work.
I really don't think this is worth at all.
Had anyone found any benefit from belonging to this?
thanks for discussing this topic.
So to be in the encyclopedia you have to pay? LOL ... of course I was also invited to be on it and my ego made me do some research about it ... lol
Mr. Abbas - No one nominated you. They just pick people at random and hope they will pay them money. The whole thing is a fraud.
Terence Hines
There is an interesting Wikipedia article on Marquis Who's Who which includes also references to criticism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_Who%27s_Who
However, as I wrote two years ago, the volumes are very valuable for studies in history of science or history in general, when you are looking for biographical data of lesser known people.
By the way, I just learned that Who's Who in the World ceased publication after the 2016 volume.
Wolfgang Dick
I think this publication will remain problematic in this regard. I have been listed six or seven times in the America editions, twice in the Science editions, and once in the Lifetime Achievement group; in none of these did I self-nominate. Today I was told I would be listed in the 2018 World Who's Who (as a matter of course for being listed in the others), which may be on a two-year publication cycle.
Whether I am deserving who can say, but I have found WW a valuable resource for my own professional biographical work, and generally quite good in terms of few errors (both on me, and on others). It is clear they are running a business, however, and I have shunned (and cringed at) the 800 dollar charges for fluffery. But think for a minute on this. How do you support a generally admirable biographical service without sometimes stooping to vanity offers?
A few years back I convinced myself of their generally legitimate mission by checking to see how many scholars who had earned "geographer of the year" honors from the Association of American Geographers were listed in WW. Over the then-past twenty years, all but one (a well-known radical who may have rejected an offer to be included out of hand) were in fact listed in WW. This is impressive. I do not begrudge the company trying to make some bucks on the side to support what is basically a useful service. Charles H. Smith, Ph.D.
I'd like to add a few words, because after reviewing the various comments above (and in the other similar discussion) it is apparent that most of the responders have little idea of the bigger picture. To begin with, of course few individual people would be interested in subscribing to WW for information purposes. However the libraries of academic institutions are. Practically every one of these in the U.S. have such a subscription (about as many as the New York Times), and the more than twenty million people who are faculty, staff or students at these places end up with free access, as do most walk-ins. The service is considered an important reference source, and at a fairly low price. Some years ago a noted reference works authority did a survey to identify librarians' opinions as to the fifty most important reference titles of the twentieth century--WW did not quite make that list, but it is actually held by more libraries nationally than almost all of the titles that did.
And no, you are not obliged to pay anything for inclusion, unlike most imitators.
If you are not inveigled into paying anything, it seems harmless enough. I would not, however, be inclined to list this “Award” on an academic c.v., for fear of being labeled a vainglorious patsy.
I have received an invitation from Marquis Who's Who several months ago and told my that I am under consideration to be included in 2018 list. Later they informed me that I have been approved for inclusion and received a BIG Congratulation! When I knew that I have to pay 800 USD (or (500 USD without search engines opportunity, I decided not to respond.
Today I have received some sort of promotion of Lifetime Achievement that requires the same 800 USD payment.
I think with the existence of Internet websites and Google and LinkedIn, you do not need to pay for being recognized!
Who needs all that? Google is my history (if not curated) – e.g., I found this where I posted what I like to feel is a classic comment https://www.logodesignlove.com/next-logo-paul-rand just by asking Google for everything containing my name.
More to the point, no one is obliged to pay $800 to find me on Google Scholar or Researchgate. Do good work, make sure it can be found by search engines (make free texts available where allowed and set up a Google Scholar profile). Google, Researchgate, et al. make money out of making information freely accessible. I can support that.
I received Marquis Who's Who email that I have been selected by their committee for 2018 edition. I wonder how they picked me? I observed that they pick data from Thomson Reuters databases because my Published Impact Factor (PIF) for 2016/2017 was over 5. I am sure that Marquis Who's Who is operated by Thomson Reuters because the link I received redirects to Clarivate Analytics website. By the way to build up your own community, Scholars Index is a good knowledge based network. Visit scholarsindex.com and enjoy most powerful profile of the world!
Marquis Who's Who is a relatively harmless form of ego grooming for professionals, though keep in mind two things:
1) Marquis is a for profit enterprise. Their goal is not to index 'important' people so much as it is to sell their giant print volumes, online index subscriptions, and various forms of Who's Who-branded merchandise (I mean really, have you looked at the amount of silly merchandise for sale on the Marquis website?). Who's more likely to buy into these products than the people included in the Marquis volumes?
And 2) while this is fine in principle--companies can and should be allowed to have profitable business models so that they can sustain themselves--Marquis has taken a nosedive in recent years. This latest practice of offering to take your money to confer resume/CV-padding fake awards (i.e. the $900 USD Albert Nelson lifetime achievement award that they've been spamming inboxes with recently) by Marquis goes beyond the pale. If you've had a chance to browse through one of the Who's Who volumes in recent years, you'll notice the quality of the entries has dropped substantially (there's an old but still relevant Forbes article "The Hall of Lame" that makes for an informative read @ https://www.forbes.com/forbes-life-magazine/1999/0308/063.html). As pointed out in that article, a simple phone call or email to the Marquis office is enough to get you included in their next Who's Who edition.
Who's Who was an amazing resource 20 or 30 years ago, but it seems their business model in recent years has shifted from preferring quantity over quality in who they include.
Used to mean a lot but is now worthless. I haven taken to ignoring them in recent years.
I just received a call that I received a "Lifetime Achievement Award". Like Ms Heitman, I'm proud of my work but see no rationale for such an award other than an appeal to my vanity. Never having consulted WW myself for any purpose I see very little incentive to even spend time on the phone with them. Harmless but also useless (due to many other online sources). Thanks everyone for posting the pros and cons which were helpful to my decision!
In one episode of "Corner Gas", Lacey joins a "Youngish Women's Society" in order to nominate herself for an award. Upon learning she cannot nominate herself, she nominates Emma for having a red coat.
I just received an E-mail that I received a "Lifetime Achievement Award". I did not believe that a developed country's prestigious publication the Marquis Who’s Who has still doing such (above mentioned) fraud works.
I have returned the Marquis bio forms over the years because it was fast and easy, and I was clear that it didn't cost anything. While I knew that i could spend money on the book, or a plaque (and I did buy a plaque many years ago), I was not obligated to. However, I have just had a phone call with a person at Marquis about being awarded the "lifetime Achievement Award." This time, I am required to spend money to receive the award. The discussion here is very helpful. Thank you.
An orthodox firm not only doing service but also sure, will be acquired money. It is their Right for human being.
Thank You
http://scholarsindex.com/articles/not-for-profit-top-10-academic-journal-qualityranking-lists
Developed and developing country's governments are requesting USER FEE for their services. It is a true fact in place of SERVICE. People are obeying the mandatory rules and regulations beyond any conflict of interest.
The Research Gate has existing a solicited question for their evaluation. It is never an unsolicited question. So, people are answering interestingly and commenting about their true experience in this regard.
Marquis Who's Who is fraud. In fact, they are only interested in making money on the persons they include (like selling them books and certificates). My recommendation is to ignore this company.
HI
This is considered profitable foundations, before it was out of business and profitability. Now aday There is a money behind this movement.Thus no value for it. Also declined the invitation.
Thanks
In 1985, I got my doctorate degree from Princeton. I was invited to be part of Marquis several months later. I just figured that they got my contact info from Princeton -- all of their grad school graduates. I didn't think much about it.
When you are asked to participate, my experience over decades is that I was always welcome to not buy anything. Yes -- you must work with them to make sure that your bio is accurate. Of course, I got the basic outline of my bio clear in the 1980s. The payment requirements could have changed. After all, everyone needs to eat.
I became clear a long time ago that Marquis was fundamentally a vanity thing. On the other hand, to the extent that my bios are available internationally, it is probably worth it.
For the most part, I have cooperated, took a little time to update and correct my bios, and sent it back without purchasing anything. I steadily moved up the ladder -- received invitations to more and different publications. I was told by Marquis in the 1990s that simply responding to their mail/request constituted accepting the award. I was awarded each honor every time I responded -- no purchase necessary.
In the late 1990s, I was invited to be included in "World Whos Who of Women." This was out of Cambridge, England. I mentioned to my male mentor. He said he often received their mailings, and generally didn't respond. However, he had a good laugh, and said he clearly didn't qualify for that publication.
I did respond and buy that volume. It was for my kids (and maybe in the future, grandkids.) That book is now somewhere with other books I have long sense outgrown. However, it is somewhere. Someday my kids (or maybe grandkids) will find it.
Cheers!!!
I think the info we provide to researchgate.net should be a sufficient "bio" for the vast majority of non-Nobel scientists. A wikipedia bio is another possibility.
There is very clearly a non-trivial difference between (a) mentioning a person's name and (b) truly promoting a person's scholarly work. Increasingly, it seems that although lots of money is charged each individual, it appears that companies which claim to be committed to promoting the intellectual excellence of a scholar are far more committed to (a) rather than (b) even though a lot of money is charged for (a). That is very, very, very unfortunate.
yes sure, Marquis is the premier company in biographies, I have been selected in Marquis for years and never paid nothing.
Marquis Who's Who is completely reputable, and does not charge for listing. Marquis Who's Who is the only one that I know of that is not fraudulent. I've been listed there for over 20 years, and it has been an honor to do so. I've never bought a book or paid a penny.
With Marquis you do not have to pay anything, and they make a sincere effort to only list high quality people and ensure accurate info.
True, there are many Who's Who directories that are total scams and disreputable. With the scam Who's Who, they will only list you if you pay to join, subscribe, buy a book, or pay for the PR campaign. You can tell the difference by letting whomever calls you that you are not willing to pay for anything up front. Yes, the business model for Marquis is to sell the books and media campaigns, but that does not detract from their basic role as a biographical directory. And when you tell them you are not paying for anything, they are pleasant and stop trying to sell you anything and just focus on getting the information accurate.
Do not confuse Marquis with the scores of Who's Who that are pay-to-be-listed.
Used to mean something. Now all biographic data is freely available on the internet. Yet, I've been listed there for over 20 years, and it has been an honor to do so. I've never bought a book or paid a penny.
Times they are a changing.
The directory used to be important because it was one of the few places people could get that information. Now it is not important because the information is freely available on the web. However, that's why they started giving out awards; they are attempting to become important again by seeking out high-quality, highly productive VIPs and recognizing them with awards. That's why attempts to devalue the the organization by lumping it in with the fraudulent ones who are only after your money is unfair and irresponsible. Marquis Who's Who is the real deal - the rest of them are fake.
And no, I do not work for them or get any benefit from them. I have recently been honored to receive the Albert Nelson Leadership award, though I have so many other awards it probably won't even get listed in my resume.
Anyone that asks you for money to be listed in a book is a scam. I have been contacted by them several times, I am not a nobel prize winner neither a famous researcher so my name there does not mean much other than money in their pockets. If I was really that great, they could just publish my name for free but they want me to send money to be listed a book most likely nobody cares. It is just a vanity thing, not worth the time. The link that I received below asking for close $800 to be listed: https://www.marquiswhoswho.com/products/press-release-and-official-certificate-package?utm_source=KR_NO+NAme&utm_campaign=813b4cffd8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_09_14_07_51_COPY_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e462c94174-813b4cffd8-51544841&mc_cid=813b4cffd8&mc_eid=0c1a4766e4
Marquis may have been telling you about services adding up to hundreds of dollars, but you are under no obligation to purchase those services. Go ahead - ask them. Or just send in your information, say you are not interested in buying the books or website access or pr campaigns. They still give you the award. Buying the services is NOT related to receiving the award or being listed. They are just looking for people who have done something with their life - someone who might inspire others. And do they want you to buy their services? Of course! That's their business model. But you are under no obligation. Therefore - not a scam.
Of course it's a scam. The strong implication is that you need to pony up the cash for the award. True, the small print says this isn't true. But it's still a dishonest business model.
I disagree that the strong implication is that you need to pony up the cash for the award. I never got that impression. As a matter of fact, it was made clear to me at the very beginning that there was no obligation to buy the services.
Again, you may be confusing Marquis with other Who's Whos, many of which are scams. The link that Raul Valverde posted is NOT the link that is sent out to people who are being considered for the award. It is the link that people use only after they have said they wanted the Press Release and Official Certificate after they've been nominate and vetted. You don't need to get the press release or the official certificate, and you can't get the award by clicking on this link and paying for it. You must be nominated to get the award, and then they verify your information, and then, if you qualify, they call you and tell you about the PR services, which you can easily decline (as I did).
You can easily tell the scam Whos Whos from the valid ones because the scam ones won't even talk to you as soon as you tell them you are not interested in purchasing any services. It is irresponsible to call a perfectly valid business model dishonest because you haven't fully investigated how it works. If you get the listing without paying anything, it's not dishonest. If you are qualified for the award because you've been listed for 15 or 20 or however many years, it's an honor.
I don't know those people who are grumbling or calling it undeserved names, but it sounds to me like there might be a bit of sour grapes involved because they did not qualify to be listed or receive the award. Or maybe they are just the type of people who like to rain on other people's parades. Who knows.
I agee with Chris, there is no obligation to pay for the award, it is confered to the recpient in any way. Marquis who is who is a classical biographer in the US, the fact is that there are many scams which emulate the same dynamic.... per my experience, MArquis includes well accomplished profesionals and scholars, it is a great award for all those who receive it. Mx
Maximiliano and Chris,
I think I provided evidence that anyone in the planet who is willing to spare some cash can be included in the prestigious marquis who is who. The link to payment and registration below: https://www.marquiswhoswho.com/products/press-release-and-official-certificate-package?utm_source=KR_NO+NAme&utm_campaign=813b4cffd8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_09_14_07_51_COPY_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e462c94174-813b4cffd8-51544841&mc_cid=813b4cffd8&mc_eid=0c1a4766e4
I know many people who want to be included in Marquis Who is who like Paris Hilton are not included. see the article in NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/13/fashion/sundaystyles/who-are-you-why-are-you-here.html
Hi, Raul.
I understand that you believe this to be true - that anyone can buy their way into the Who's Who. But your link does not prove anything. If someone fills that out and they are not qualified, they will simply get their money back. Marquis is not going to risk their reputation for a few dollars. Again, I believe you are confusing Marquis with other Who's Who who are not actually trying to find qualified people.
Of course, I also don't think there's anything necessarily "special" about the people in the directory. They are simply qualified. That is, they have a position or achievements that are in some way notable.
I was told I had been awarded an Alfred E. Newman lifetime achievement award, or something like that. They called me on the phone. After a long conversation, they offered up the $900 price tag. I laughed. However, they did say that they will still give me the award and list it on their website. What leads me to think that this is only marginally legit is that they made their decision to give me a "lifetime achievement award" on the basis of the information they had, which was 20 years old and reflected my accomplishments largely as a graduate student. The information had never been updated and there was little I had done at that time which would qualify me for any sort of lifetime achievement award. So, in short, the award is not particularly meaningful.
Hi, John. Thanks for weighing in.
So 20 years ago you accomplished a lot as a graduate student, and now you are a highly successful Professor of Religious Studies and Anthropology with extensive publications on ethnography, aging, health, and ritual in rural Japan, and you also write on globalization and internal migration. And you served as Secretary General of the Japan Anthropology Workshop, the world's largest organization of anthropologists working on Japan. And you don't think you qualify for a lifetime achievement award? Sheesh!
It sounds to me like that's exactly the type of people they consider to warrant an award. Don't sell yourself - or your accomplishments - short.
And thanks for validating what I've been saying all along; they give the award whether or not you pony up for the media blitz. And they make a concerted effort to find highly qualified people to receive the award.
AND I agree with you; just because I think Marquis Who's Who is completely legit doesn't mean I think it's particularly meaningful. I might list it on a comprehensive list of all my awards, but it wouldn't even make the top 20.
Yeah - they'll give you the award if you don't pay. But they'll try like hell to talk you out of the money first. Just like a sleazy use car salesman.
Chris, they were completely unaware of anything I’ve done since 2001. So the information they were using was certainly not worthy of an award. It is just a money-making scheme. The award is meaningless.
I just re-read your original post, where you called the award the Alfred E. Newman award. Hahahaha! I didn't get the joke the first time - it's been too long since I've read MAD magazines.
As I noted earlier - it's a business model. But a legitimate one. Selling used cars is legitimate too. The question was not how meaningful the award was, the question was whether or not it was legitimate.
I disagree with you that they didn't know anything about you since 2001. They may not have had anything in their system since 2001, but since your information is readily available on Google and Wikipedia, I'm sure they targeted you because they had your contact information from 2001 and you had actually done something with your life since 2001. You are a noteworthy academic researcher quite qualified for a lifetime achievement award whether you admit it or not.
(For the record, it's the Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.)
And yes, they give out awards to make money. But then again, ALL awards that are given out have some ulterior motive. That's why I have so many. Once you figure out that no one ever gives anyone an award for completely altruistic purposes, that every award ever given has some behind-the-scenes motivation (usually money but sometimes just prestige and recognition for the giving organization), then it is easy to see how to get them. Awards never mean anything other than the person has figured out the game. Lots of people are much more deserving than me of awards, but they haven't bothered to play.
I agree, Chris. That's why I think these awards are completely meaningless. It's all just BS. I've never cared about getting awards, largely because I see no point to them. They are just there to either: 1) achieve some goal of the awarder, 2) stroke the ego of the awardee or 3) both 1 and 2. And, no, they really didn't know anything else about me other than what they had. I asked. They targeted me because they figured that I could afford the $900 and thought I might be a big enough sucker that I'd fall for their scheme. It might be la legitimate business model, but I'm not in business, I'm in academia. And a used car salesman selling a crappy car may be legit, but that doesn't mean he's doing a good thing. Why would anyone actually want an award that is meaningless? I certainly don't. Again, based on what I experienced, the Alfred E. Newman Award has little to do with qualifications. Just like Al, it's a joke.
I understand that you see no point in either giving or receiving awards, but since I'm an inveterate award giver, I do see many benefits to both the awarder and the awardee.
Organizations that give awards do so mostly to raise money. They either do that by selling some related service (media blitz like the Who's Who) or getting sponsors for the award ceremony. I run a non-profit that used to give out awards to Tai Chi Health Researchers. We did it to get recognition (we had a reason to send a press release that would get printed) and to get sponsors who then pay for the good work we do all year long. It was good for us.
But there are advantages to the recipient as well. First - giving someone an award makes them feel good, and generally the organizers develop friends and contacts who widen their network (a great thing). Second, receiving an award provides recognition that wouldn't ordinarily be achieved.
I was nominated for the Athena Leadership award, for example. On the surface you could say the same thing - a meaningless award. The giving organization (the local Chamber of Commerce) charged $25 for a reception (that didn't even include dinner) and garnered (my guess) over $20,000 in sponsorships for the event from local businesses. It was a huge networking deal and financial success for them.
But what I got was even more - a very friendly and committed bunch of friends who were former Athena winners, a picture in the paper, a nice sculpture, and the recognition that goes with being selected from out of hundreds of nominees. People are still impressed when they hear that I'm an Athena Leader Award Winner.
But I would never have been nominated for that very well-known prestigious award had I not previously be nominated for many other awards. Many of those other awards were not nearly as prestigious. But each one helped. The fact that I was listed among the other qualified winners (no matter how many) made me "credible" when it came to the top awards like the Athena award. So none of them were a waste of time or meaningless to me.
In the final analysis, Marquis Who's Who is not sleazy - any more than the Chamber of Commerce is sleazy. What makes other Who's Who sleazy is insisting you have to pay for the award (just like some used car salespeople are sleazy because they lie about the car while others are good business people offering a needed service selling used cars). If you pay for an award, it's not an award - that's a purchased advertisement. So for me, that's a big difference. It may be meaningless to you (and I respect that) but it's not meaningless for everyone. But if it makes you feel better to denigrate others who have received the same recognition for their qualifications as you have received, then by all means - go for it. I'll stop trying to clarify my point of view.
Peace
CJ
I'm not trying to "denigrate others" and nothing I wrote suggests that I was. My point was quite simple: This specific award isn't much of an award because the criteria for granting it don't appear to be sound. To grant someone an award based on what they did 20 years ago in graduate school is basically meaningless unless they did something truly amazing--I didn't. In other words, I did not receive the award for my qualifications; therefore it isn't really an award and that leaves me skeptical about the value of it. I do see your point about being nominated for one award can lead to others--I just don't care about those things, but that's me. I'm not stating everyone should see it that way. And just to be clear, I declined the "award."
I remember my university library had this book in the References and Directories section. That is not nothing, but it seems not far from a scam. Yet, there is the beauty, it is not a scam...you can be listed and pay nothing. Consider it a pat on the back. It's like winning "Best Paper Award" from some obscure conference. Yay. Which way to the buffet?
I have received 3 emails from different accounts that I have been nominated to this prestigious award. The emails are not addressed to any name. The idea that they will screen you once you pay makes no sense, once you pay it is not very likely that they refuse your money. There is enough evidence that it is just a vanity award. It might have been prestigious in the past but not longer the case.
Well, they ask for payment only for the books or certificate. All listings are free. If you want to save some memories for your grandchildren you can buy some of that. Do not underestimate yourself:)
Igor, I received 3 times that payment link below to be listed in this prestigious book of the best of the best of the world : https://www.marquiswhoswho.com/products/press-release-and-official-certificate-package?utm_source=KR_NO+NAme&utm_campaign=813b4cffd8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_09_14_07_51_COPY_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e462c94174-813b4cffd8-51544841&mc_cid=813b4cffd8&mc_eid=0c1a4766e4
Just to clarify, Raul, you received 3 emails to pay for a press-release and official certificate package. That's not the same as 3 emails to be listed. You must already be listed or they wouldn't have your email.
What's strange to me is that I never received any emails except to update my listing. Then I got a phone call telling me I got the reward. Then another phone call telling me about all the services I got (which I declined). But I still got the award (which is just a listing - nothing else). Perhaps I just get so many emails I didn't see anything with a link to pay for anything. Maybe I'm just lucky ;->
BTW - I do not recommend buying the book to save memories for your grandchildren. My father's wife was listed in six different Who's Who books, but when I offered them to her children and grandchildren after she died, not a single one wanted the books. My advice always - take the listing and the award. Refuse to pay a single penny for anything. If they tell you that you don't get the award if you don't pay, then it's not an award, and is completely worthless. But if you get the award regardless of whether or not you pay, it is recognition to be proud of.
Igor, I think a few contributors here are misunderstanding my comments (and those of some others) that are not supportive of the awards given by Who's Who and other similar organizations. The issue is not related to either underestimating or overestimating oneself. It's about whether or not the "award" is a legitimate or useful recognition of one's accomplishments. I think an award can be quite meaningful if it comes form one's academic peers--those who know and understand one's work. I think it is much less meaningful, if meaningful at all, when it comes from a business that simply counts up someone's number of publications or makes judgments about what positions are prestigious or important and that is ultimately doing this to make money. Based on my conversation with the person at Who's Who, I really have no idea what the criteria are that would determine someone's merit for a "lifetime achievement award", so I don't know how to interpret the award as being indicative of any actual accomplishments. Again, this has nothing to do with estimating my accomplishments--or lack thereof--although the "accomplishments" that were expressed to me as being the basis for the award were certainly not worthy of a lifetime achievement award. How can one get a "lifetime" achievement award for some rather insignificant work one did in grad school? Doesn't make sense to me, at least.
Hi, John.
I thought, at some point, that I was told that the criteria for the Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award is simple; being listed in Marquis Who's Who for 10 or more years. That's it. There is no committee that judges the quality of someone's work. They make a judgement when you GET listed, but not when they give you the award. So it's the listing that is the recognition of your accomplishments. The award is just for longevity. There are advantages to being old ;->
We came to a philsophical question. What is a value of one's life. You can go by good things that you done for other people or you can go to a number of quotations that some way estimate your impact on a science field. Or a number of your rejected proposals or patents that were owerwritten by other patents, to kick you out, etc. I think that they try to keep it right, but in time of overwhelming information bust you cannot do that for all thousands of possible candidates, maybe we need some AI program to do that...
Over the past 4-5 years, I've received a number offers to be listed on Marquis WW. I first heard about WW in my pre-teen years in the late 1940s growing up in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York. In my parent's generation, WW was a "big deal," an acknowledgment you were indeed "famous." I eventually morphed into a physicist with a worldwide reputation in the field of superconductivity...over 120 peer-reviewed pubs, 15 patents, and many popular articles and editorials, as well as appearances on TV internationally. All this detail and public exposure can be found on my website www.w2agz.com . My question is, "Why do I need the additional exposure and publicity offered by Marquis WW?"
Hi, Paul.
The answer: you don't.
But that wasn't the question. The question was - is Marquis Who's Who a reputable listing? The answer is: yes, it is. Because people who are listed don't pay to be listed, and you must be nominated through some achievement to get listed.
CJ
While my opinion is that it's not, because although people don't pay to be listed, the criteria for determining who deserves to be listed are opaque and questionable at best. CJ and I disagree on this.
all prizes and awards follow their own "opaque" criterion" of selection. I found that all awarded by Marquis are reputable scholars in their fields.
My take on this is that it does provide a searchable database for potential employers. It was the only game in town until Forbes Magazine wanted to become the go-to source for such listings, and have its OWN list become the most important such list. To achieve that end, they got Tucker Carlson to write a hit job denigrating Marquis Who's Who in favor of the Forbes lists. Forbes rankings are largely based on financial achievements and power, since money and power are the be-all and end-all "goods" in right leaning circles. One thing I would recomend is not shelling out the money to pay for any books. It was The Definitive Biographical Database for 100 years (founded 1899) until Carlson's 1999 hit piece pushing MWW aside in favor of the Forbes listings. It is still a widely searched database for many personnel and other head hunter searches.
Don't shell out any money for the books. They're going to online searchable databases now anyway. There is a fee for the website development, listing, and maintenance, which could be useful as a marketing tool for some, or just getting your name out there. Most employers are searching LinkedIn, but still search the MWW databases too. They pay to do so. Hope that answers your question.
I was working at home last Thursday when the phone rang. It was MWW trying to sell me their books. I'm on the no-call list so this was in direct violation of the law. This sort of illegal behavior clearly shows that MWW is a deeply unethical company.
Marquis WW continues to be annoyingly aggressive, and no, the average person is not going to pay hundreds to access it. However, many or most academic libraries have electronic subscriptions which make it "free" access to many millions of students, staff, and faculty. Yes, you can self-nominate, but the important thing is not how many people who don't deserve to be in the database, are, but what percent who do so deserve, are. Ignore the fluffery (which unfortunately is a needed revenue source for the company) and consider the second matter.
While annoyingly aggressive is certainly a judgement call, I'm unclear on what you are saying is "the second matter," Charles. Are you saying, for example, that the Nobel Peace Prize is not a valid award because there are people in the world who deserve to be nominated for it, and were not? That doesn't make much sense to me. There is no way to comprehensively list everyone who "deserves" to be recognized - no matter what directory or listing you are talking about.
Additionally, the listing of the people who received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award is not in a book, and is freely available just by Googling it. Those who paid get a full description of their whole lives, a picture, etc. Those who didn't pay but still received the award are just listed with a bare-bones bio. Again - the criteria for the award is being listed for many years in the MWW Directory, so (as many others have said), the "value" is debatable. But value and legitimacy are two different things. And we are talking legitimacy, not value.
And Terence - I'm not sure why you reached the conclusion you did. A lot depends upon the exact wording and the context. While it may be illegal to call someone on the Do Not Call List and try to sell something, I get tons of calls from organizations purporting to "offer" me something or "help" me in some way that I consider to be just veiled sales calls. But if I was actually interested in those services (a lower interest rate on my credit card, for example, or a free trip to a tropical island) I wouldn't consider them sales calls. Did you actually get a call trying to sell you a book (which is odd, because MWW doesn't really sell books to the general public), or did you get offered the opportunity to be listed because someone nominated you? While I can understand why you might consider that a sales call, there are many who would consider it an opportunity. Because remember you don't have to pay to be listed, and you don't have to buy a book.
However, I understand (and respect the fact) that no everyone agrees. Luckily, we don't have to agree. What a boring world it would be if we did!
Chris,
Your convoluted defense of unsolicited calls is absurd. It's little more than double-speak. The fact remains that, even if someone called to offer me $1 bills for 25 cents, it would be an unsolicited sales call, no matter how much I might be pleased with the offer. Such calls are ILLEGAL. What part of that don't you understand?
To reply to Chris... It is of course impossible to decide absolutely who 'deserves' to be included, but those who receive significant honors, or hold important positions, etc. can be researched and included. This can be done in an organized fashion, and serve as the basis for such a list (beyond self-nomination, that is). To give an example I used a couple of years ago... Some years back I checked the then-past twenty years of awards by the main professional geography society for their "geographer of the year"; 19 of 20 of these people were in MWW (the only one who wasn't was a known 'radical' who though an important figure probably felt such listing was beneath him). The importance of nominations, even self-nominations, is not to be ignored, either, as it can alert the compilers to awards or honors or other accomplishments that they might have missed. At the same time I stand by using the term "annoyingly aggressive" because I keep getting such "offers" myself and find them tedious and sometimes misleading.
Chris,
The email I received below, clearly states that I have been selected but never applied nor the email states my name but it was sent to a generic hotmail account that does not include my name in the email address. If I am getting an award that I never applied for to an email address that is just a junk email address and sent to me with no name, it is not hard to conclude that is merely spam and bogus. Again, I am sorry to burst the bubbles of people here holding this prestigious award but it is not prestigious and just a money maker. "We are pleased to inform you that your biography has been accepted into Marquis Who's Who for the 2019 Edition, which is comprised of the top 3% of the professionals in the world.
Your news release and trophy are in production! Reservation in our network is honored to individuals who have demonstrated leadership, excellence and longevity within their respective industries and professions. Lifetime affiliation with Marquis Who’s Who entitles biographees to an expanded biographical profile online, as well as a professional news release detailing induction into Marquis Who's Who in the World.
Your colleagues, family and friends should know about this distinction. Announce your Honor to the world with a personalized news release and display your plaque proudly in your office or home. The news release isavailable to be distributed to all the major search engines, including Google, Bing and Naver, where it will remain online permanently."
I give up. MWW itself is not compiled merely on the basis of self-nominations and promises of promotion of reputation. Most of the people included actually have excelled in some fashion, as can easily be seen just by reading the entries. Apparently, however, the company is experiencing serious competition from other information providers and has introduced additional revenue-maker "awards" and publicity as a way of keeping themselves financially afloat. Is this so hard to understand??
Charles,
Have you checked every single biography in the MWW and have made a conclusion based on an extensive analysis or you are making an opinion based on the basis that you are a holder of this award? What makes an excellent scholar according to MWW, just a PhD? a little weak if this is the case. I cannot tell if all the people included in this web site are excellent scholars or successful people but I am just stating my experience that I have been getting these junk emails for more than 10 years that are not addressed to my name but just a general email stating that I have been selected to be part of this prestigious award on no basis, I don't have much to show to be considered top of the 3% of the world other than the willingness to pay some money that might make the top of the 3% mainly because not many people are willing to pay money for a vanity award.
Hi, Raul, Charles, and Terence.
First - all awards are vanity awards. Awards are given, by and large, for recognition. Wanting recognition for your work is, by definition, vanity. Not always a bad thing for without it, no one would get recognized for anything.
Second, feel free to review the bios of the scholars on MWW. If you don't feel they are up to your standards, then skip the award. Don't denigrate others who have received them. And third - yes, quite frankly, 'just a PhD" would put you in the top 3%. In the US, according to the census, only 2% of the population have PhDs.
And yes, it appears that MWW is widening its marketing due to competition, as Charles has indicated. In my opinion (as I've stated many times) as long as you don't have to purchase the books or pay any money for the media blitz in order to be listed or get their award, I believe that it is a legitimate organization. That's what the question was, and that's the issue we should be responding to.
Value, or Prestige, like Beauty, is up to the beholder. If they were giving awards for beauty and you were offered one, but you didn't think you were beautiful enough to deserve it, it would not be appropriate for you to call all the others who received the award "ugly", or to complain about the organization offering you the award.
If you find their requests annoying, ask them to stop and take you off their list. If they continue to bombard you after a request to leave you alone, then that would cause me to rethink my "legitimate" organization stance. But if the only criteria you are using to think they are not legitimate is that you were not interested in their listing when they contacted you, but you haven't told them to stop contacting you, I think that it is not appropriate to denigrate them.
So - get listed, don't get listed, or tell them to stop bothering you. If you don't want to be listed but don't tell them, they will continue to contact you. Because as understanding as I am that Terence is annoyed by their calls, it is not illegal to call someone to let them know they have been invited to get listed in a directory. If it were, there would be no directories anywhere. And if you read the wording of the email that Raul posted, you will see that it is an announcement that you have been accepted to have your bio put in MWW. All the other stuff they talk about costs money, but it costs nothing to respond yes and provide them with your bio - and you would then get listed. Just say "no" to the trophy, media blitz, access to the online network, and the other things they provide for a fee so that they can make the whole MWW directory available to libraries and other organizations. That's my advice, at any rate.
Peace
CJ
I guess Raul's remarks call for a reply. First, I agree fully with all of C.J.'s comments above. And yes, I have looked into MWW's holdings rather extensively (one of my professional interests being bibliometrics), and they figured fairly prominently (though by no means exclusively) in the production of a few of my own online services. Our library has a complete run not only of the American Who's Who, but also of the British title, and Who Was Who for both (plus, at least through December, the MWW electronic database), as well as various runs of closely related titles. As for myself, I have won several rather minor (but not totally trivial) national-level awards, and have published nearly 75 scholarly articles (all but two as first or only author), more than 2000 online transcriptions, ten books and a dozen "informational" websites which have elicited in sum nearly a thousand formal citations in the professional literature, putting me in the top ten, and perhaps five, percent in that regard among all writers on technical subjects. Three of the books were produced by top academic publishers (Oxford U and U Chicago). So I don't feel 'embarrassed' at being in MWW (nor did I self-nominate; I still don't know whether someone else nominated me, or the company simply 'found' me). I admit that like you I find their efforts to get me to buy their products annoying, but apparently unlike you I have taken the time to try to understand their position. Their efforts to attract income may indeed eventually kill them altogether, but I guess that's just natural selection... --CHS
Charles, thank for your reply. My guess is that MWW changed management recently and are engaging in not so ethical practices. It seems a legit organization but maybe they shouldn't be spamming. Thanks again.
I thought I answered this question a few days ago, but don't see it here so I'll add a few words now. Indeed Marquis Who's Who was the go to biographical directory from its founding in 1899 and held that position for many years. Most libraries obtained the books as references. A few years back (maybe 10-15 or so?) Tucker Carlson wrote a hit piece against MWW for Forbes magazine, conveniently, to help Forbes establish itself as the go to source for such listings. Of course Tucker became a journalist for Forbes, or perhaps was already a journalist at Forbes at the time he wrote the article, which is worse. Now everyone in the business world and communications, especially in New York and finance, Forbes is the list most reference. I am not aware that there are self nominations. Now that everything is electronic and online, it is probably useful to be in their databases. A lot of businesses wind up changing after being sold and resold. I think most libraries still obtain the books, or now pay for access to the databases. Head hunters use them, so I think there is probably some value in that, if you are still actively working, either in a volunteer capacity or for compensation. It is another way to get your name out there. I decided to accept an offer as a marketing device. It is a recognition, but not as prestigious as it used to be. I was in several of their categories 20 years ago or so after I had a couple of high profile positions. It is still the oldest such listing in the US. Most employers go to LinkedIn, and that is the primary place I use for professional activities and communication. SDB