Talk:Jamie Beaton

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Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Bruxton (talk) 17:36, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Created by MaxnaCarta (talk). Self-nominated at 23:50, 9 January 2023 (UTC).[reply]

  • tall poppy
    ", and was impressed by the article and how well-written/neutral it is. Article is new enough, long enough, well-cited and has no other eligibility problems. No issues from Earwig check. QPQ appears to not be required as your second DYK nomination (although please let me know if I've got that wrong!).
  • The hook is interesting and cited. I note I don't have access to the provided source for the hook as it requires a subscription. I can approve it on an AGF basis but wondered if you could provide me with the wording of the text supporting the hook? (I just want to check that it says this definitively, rather than being simply a claim by Beaton.)
  • Some minor comments:
    • Suggest just 'New Zealand' instead of 'New Zealand born'.
    • I think these sentences in the lead might fit better in the body of the article in the 'Early life' section: "The son of property managers, Beaton was born and raised in Auckland where for the first 7 years of his secondary education he attended Saint Kentigern School, then completing the final four years at King's College on an academic scholarship.[1] He was the valedictorian of King's College on graduation.[2]"
    • Per
      MOS:LEADREL
      , any significant information in the lead should usually be covered in the remainder of the article. I think details about his Harvard degree and that he completed it in only three years fits in this category.
    • I'm not sure the two images used in the article add much value or are significant enough to Beaton himself, and I would personally probably not include them, bearing in mind
      MOS:PERTINENCE
      .
  • Thanks again for your great work on this article, and hope all of the above makes sense. Only the request for the text supporting the hook is really critical to me approving the nomination. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 04:09, 12 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]
    • Comment. Both the hook and the article have neutrality issues. The source used is a book review that repeats an assertion from Beaton. The world's top 25 universities according to whom? Beaton's business is university preparation; I don't think it's appropriate to repeat this claim in Wikipedia's own voice as it virtually amounts to free advertising. A further claim in the article about Beaton's degrees is totally unsourced. The article also includes several other promotional assertions about Crimson's business. ITBF (talk) 13:02, 16 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      • @ITBF: Thanks for your comments! I have added a source for the further claim in the article about his degrees, and done some other tweaks based on sources. As noted, I wanted to check the source wording for the hook before approving, but given that I took a different view on the article's neutrality, I'm going to suggest that a second reviewer be required once the issues I raised have been addressed.
      • @MaxnaCarta: apologies and hope the above is still helpful. I also note that it might be worth double-checking that the degrees listed in the infobox are covered by the sources in the article. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 20:56, 16 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]
        • Have found another source for the hook quote, and suggest slight rewording:
ALT0a: ... that New Zealand entrepreneur Jamie Beaton applied to 25 of the top-ranking universities in the world and received an offer from each? Source: "He had actually applied to 25 of the world's highest-ranked universities, and all had said yes." BBC News
Appreciate this doesn't resolve all your concerns, ITBF. Chocmilk03 (talk) 03:34, 17 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Chocmilk03: thanks for the work you did! I think the hook is perfectly appropriate. It is neutral. Not neutral would be "Jamie Beaton achieved the astounding feat of applying to wonderful universities and this makes him special". That he applied to 25 of the worlds top 25 universities is a fact that has been repeated by multiple reliable sources. Now that you sourced the BBC, a perennially reliable source, the hook is appropriate. Regarding "free advertising", I disagree with that premise. Advertising means describing or drawing attention to a product in a public medium in order to promote sales. "In order" is the key word here. Beaton has primarily become notable on the back of his company. Hence, a description of his business empire and what it offers is essential in writing a complete article about him. This may well have the side effect of drawing attention to his business, but the same could be said for an article on a phone that describes its products and features. I have not given undue weight to the business, remained neutral, and also mentioned the legal issues the business has faced. On balance, I see no violation of WP:NOT. @ITBF:, does this address your concerns? If you have any concerns, please could you identify a solution that would address them? I've been on a break for a wee while so haven't got round to applying. Hopefully this is now okay to proceed. Thanks all! MaxnaCarta (talk) 00:43, 30 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Article is ready for a second reviewer for ALT0a. My assessment as first reviewer was that the article was appropriately neutral, and I remain of this view. I've just made some other amendments to the article (hope you don't mind MaxnaCarta!) to address my concerns above about the lead and because on review there were a few other points that I felt could be stated in a more neutral way (e.g. to say "Crimson states that it does X" instead of "Crimson does X"). Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 02:03, 30 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Chocmilk03: thanks! Of course I don't mind lol. I do not own the article, and if it did, you're doing my work for me ^_^. Hopefully ITBF will be the seconder if they can. I'm still gonna work through your issues mentioned regardless of the nom, eventually to get it to GA standard. It's probably a way off that though and I'm prioritising another article for GA atm. Cheers for the feedback. All to do is wait now. I hope you are safe and nowhere near Auckland...MaxnaCarta (talk) 03:16, 30 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I think some more attribution as to whom thinks these are the top 25 would be helpful in the hook. theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/her) 02:15, 9 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Theleekycauldron: The source itself says this. Not sure "according to the Australian" would help? Maybe we could change it to "25 of the world's top universities"? Because it is true that the top 25 varies depending on list. Thoughts? I'm open to any suggestions!. @Chocmilk03: any ideas from you? MaxnaCarta (talk) 01:02, 15 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
...This is actually already the alternative hook already I guess.MaxnaCarta (talk) 01:04, 15 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I actually think it's worth writing out the last version of the hook mentioned by Maxna Carta, which to me is slightly better than ALT0a, because it's not necessarily saying it's "THE" top 25:
  • ALT0b: ... that New Zealand entrepreneur Jamie Beaton applied to 25 of the world's top-ranking universities and received an offer from each?
  • ALT0c: ... that New Zealand entrepreneur Jamie Beaton applied to 25 top-ranking universities and received an offer from each?
Personally I just don't think it's that interesting (!!!). If you can get into 5 top-ranking universities, it's highly likely you could get into more of them, if you're bothered to apply. In the end, you can only go to 1. Oh...unless you're Jamie, in which case maybe you do find a way to Hermione Granger your way to multiple schools. Here's my proposal for a fresh hook:
  • ALT1: ... that at the age of 27, New Zealand entrepreneur
    Yale
    ?
@MaxnaCarta, Chocmilk03, and Theleekycauldron: Thoughts? Cielquiparle (talk) 14:37, 27 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Cielquiparle: Thanks for taking a look at this one! My goal with ALT0a was to try to avoid saying they were "the top 25", so if that failed, definitely happy to revise per your ALT0b/c. But tbh I think your hook ALT1 is better anyway. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 20:49, 27 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Chocmilk03: Since I wrote ALT1, could you please give it a green tick? Please do check the article to make sure the fact is fully covered in the hook...I'm pretty sure now it does...but if further edits are needed, let us know. Cielquiparle (talk) 21:13, 27 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Cielquiparle: I'd normally be happy to, and agree the hook meets the criteria. Part of the reason though I called for a second opinion was because of the comment by IBDF that they didn't think the article was neutral. That made me nervous! I've gone and had another look and I still stand by my previous opinion, but wondered if you would be willing to weigh in on that aspect of things, as a previously uninvolved editor? Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 00:59, 28 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@
WP:PROMOTION. Of course, the article can continue to be improved, but at the moment it seems "good enough". This probably was more of an answer than you were expecting, but thanks to your cautiousness, we've now made things a little better, so I'm happy for you to proceed with the final approval part. Cielquiparle (talk) 10:20, 28 March 2023 (UTC)[reply
]
@Cielquiparle: ALT1 approved; I've wikilinked the universities as I think that may be useful but happy if promotor wants to remove. Thanks heaps for your help; you've addressed the nervousness I had, and agree with your assessment of the 25 universities situation! Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 21:44, 28 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Cielquiparle, Chocmilk03, and MaxnaCarta: Stanford University is not cited in our article and only appears as a wikilink in the infobox. After this is fixed I can promote. Bruxton (talk) 16:40, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
To speed things up, I added the information with a reference Bruxton (talk) 17:35, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

GA Review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


This review is
transcluded from Talk:Jamie Beaton/GA1
. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Spinixster (talk · contribs) 01:52, 6 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the start Spinixter. Give yourself some credit, I am sure you will be a great reviewer. It is not a complex bio so we should be okay! I'll start working on the feedback you left already. I do need to link those sources. I have been through a few GA's and I am always willing to act on feedback. Thanks! — MaxnaCarta  ( 💬 • 📝 ) 02:25, 6 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This may be a little out of my league, but I'll be reviewing this. Comments are coming shortly, but I'll do the basics first.

  • Copyvios: 9.9%, no issues because parts are common phrases.
  • Sources: seems reliable, no red flags. I suggest linking the website of all the sources like the others (if there are ones), for example, Stuff to Stuff (website), National Business Review, etc.
    • Source 11 erroneously wikilinks to The New Zealand Herald (it is Stuff (website).)

Here are my comments.

  • Lead:
    • I would expand the lead to include more information about Beaton per
      WP:LEAD
      , but that's not really needed fpr GA.
    • The lead says the company is Crimson Education, but the next sentence says the company is Crimson Consulting. Crimson Consulting is not mentioned anywhere else in the article. Is this another name for the company, or an error? If the former, it should probably be clarified.
Green tickY Done!
  • Early life and education
    • The lead and infobox says that Beaton was born in 1995, but the information is not found in the body of the article.
Green tickY - Well, I actually don't have a reliable source for his year of birth. I just know it's 1995 due to the age he is at certain years. But without a reliable source, it will be removed.
    • His mother separated from his father while she was pregnant with Beaton. Beaton's father was not involved in his upbringing. Both parents later remarried. The sentences, especially the latter ones, are quite short and could benefit from being merged.
Green tickY done, now reads Beaton's mother separated from his father during her pregnancy and, subsequently, Beaton was raised without his father's involvement; later, both parents remarried.
    • Beaton joined Young Mensa and became its national coordinator. He also attended King's College on an academic scholarship. I suggest moving the second sentence to the front and clarified that he joined Young Mensa outside of school, per source. Currently, I think the sentences imply that he joined Young Mensa first and attended King's College later. I would also clarify that Young Mensa is a society.
Green tickY Done
    • Beaton went on to study and complete six degrees, including a bachelor's degree and master's degree from Harvard University (graduating in 2016) and a DPhil from Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar. This sentence is unsourced. I would also clarify what a DPhil is (or just state that it's a Doctor of Philosophy degree instead of an acronym, like the other degrees) and remove brackets so that it's more formal.
Green tickY removed as there is actually no appropriate source confirming the completion of a dphil anyway
    • He took three years to complete his bachelor's and master's degrees in applied mathematics from Harvard, with the typical time to complete the course being five years. Instead of a separate sentence, you can merge parts of the last sentence with it, ex. Beaton went on to study and complete six degrees, including a bachelor's degree and master's degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University, which took three years rather than the customary five years, and graduated in 2016. and continue with the other degrees.
Green tickY Done
    • He also earned two degrees from Stanford University and he received a master's degree in global affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Remove the second "he" as it's not needed.
Green tickY Done
    • He is completing a seventh degree at Yale Law School. Per
      MOS:REALTIME
      , I'd say that the information is true as of the source's date, ex. As of 2022, ...
Green tickY Done
  • Business
    • I suggest making the first sentence clearer and more concise, ex. In 2013, Beaton founded Crimson Education, a company that helps to prepare students for admission to prestigious universities, with Fangzhou Jiang and Sharndre Kushor.
Green tickY Done
    • The source says the company is valued at 60 million in New Zealand dollars, not 70, with Beaton's share prized at around 40.5 million. Saying that Beaton owns just under half of its shares would be original research since the source does not say he owns under half of its shares. It does say that Beaton is the company's biggest shareholder, so that can work instead.
Green tickY Done
    • Customers of Crimson Education have reportedly paid tens of thousands of dollars for tutoring services when attempting to gain entry to an Ivy League school. I would also remove "tens of" so that it's more natural.
Green tickY Done
    • Suggest merging the second and third paragraphs together as one-sentence paragraphs are not encouraged.
Green tickY Done
    • Crimson Education chose not to comment on the assault claim filed by Beaton. Regarding the litigation, Crimson stated it was not unusual for companies like Crimson to "experience some commercial litigation". Remove "Regarding the litigation" so that it's less repetitive.
Green tickY Done!
  • Personal life and politics
    • After losing the 2020 election, the centre-right New Zealand National Party announced a review into its election campaign, and Beaton sat on the review panel. The sentence is confusing. Try something like Beaton sat on the review panel of the centre-right New Zealand National Party's election campaign after the party lost the 2020 election.
Green tickY Done!

That's all for now. I'll be putting this review on hold. Spinixster (chat!) 09:38, 6 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Spinixster all done, thanks for the comments. — MaxnaCarta  ( 💬 • 📝 ) 02:04, 16 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for addressing my concerns. I just have another thing that I didn't notice in my first review. The lead says: Since founding the firm, Beaton had acquired several other enterprises which operated in partnership with Crimson Education., but the body does not seem to say that Beaton has acquired other enterprises, and per
MOS:LEAD the lead should reflect what's in the article. Can this be clarified and/or changed? Spinixster (chat!) 07:35, 16 March 2024 (UTC)[reply
]
Done, thanks @Spinixster I removed that — MaxnaCarta  ( 💬 • 📝 ) 04:37, 19 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Alright, passing now. Spinixster (chat!) 07:26, 19 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article issues

Hello, there are a few issues with this article that I think are worth raising to obtain consensus on:

(1) the article frequently refers to Beaton's Crimson Education as having obtained a "valuation" of certain figures. I think its important that we qualify that these valuations are occurring in the context of Venture Capital funding rounds; these aren't necessarily whole-of-business valuations being made for the purpose of an acquisition. The importance of this is: just because Tiger Management happens to think that 10% of a business is worth $100M, that doesn't mean the business is going to be valued at $100M to the wider market.

Adding the qualifier 'post-money valuation' flags this issue to the reader and avoids misleading them.

(2) Beaton's stake in the business as of 2022 is unclear. I think its worth including a sentence that his present stake in the business is unknown; although his stake in 2016 was around half.

(3) Alot of the attention upon Beaton (especially the media attention) focuses on his numerous amount of credentials from elite universities. I think this is part of what is driving his media interest, the coverage, and hence his notability. I think its worth including a paragraph in the opening to reflect this, reading: "Beaton has received media attention for obtaining an remarkably large number of credentials from various elite international universities. He has obtained degrees from Harvard, Stanford, Tsinghua, a PhD from Oxford, and is studying law at Yale."

What do we think?

Jack4576 (talk) 03:06, 20 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Jack4576: I agree with you that (1) could be clearer in a couple of places. How about "In 2016, the enterprise was valued by investors at over NZ$75 million"? It's already clear that the US$550 million valuation is based on venture capital, I think.
(2) doesn't seem needed to me as long as it's clear that it was only as of 2016 that his stake was known to be around half, which I think is currently the case. (3), I'm neutral on but would delete "remarkably"; that it's a large number is enough. Others may have different views on all of this, of course. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 03:35, 20 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
For (1) I’d prefer: “In 2016, the enterprise was given a post-money-valuation by some investors at over NZ$75 million” Jack4576 (talk) 04:49, 20 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Jack4576: Hmm, I'm not keen on the phrase "post-money valuation" as it seems like quite a technical term (I've never heard it before). Is there an alternative way of phrasing this? Chocmilk03 (talk) 20:22, 20 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It is a technical term indeed… it’s the precise term for the type of valuation that’s happening.
How about, “In 2016, some investors bought a stake in the business, which they valued at over NZ$75 million”
what do you think? Jack4576 (talk) 00:32, 21 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Additional issues

(4) Beaton has a doctorate from Oxford, and so I think the article should start "Dr Jamie Beaton" rather than merely 'Jamie Beaton'.

(5) I think we should remove the sentence "According to Beaton, he then applied to 25 of the top universities in the world and received an offer from each", as he is not a RS for this claim.

Thoughts? Jack4576 (talk) 03:17, 20 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@
MOS:PHD
says "Academic or professional titles (such as "Dr." or "Professor"), including honorary ones, should only be used with the subject of a biography if that subject is widely known by a pseudonym or stage name containing such a title (whether earned or not)". Beaton is not widely known as "Dr Jamie Beaton", therefore he should not be referred to in the lead of the article in this way, although the article can of course mention his doctorate.
In relation to (5), my view is that the statement is fine as currently worded. It says "According to Beaton" which is correct. It is a claim that he has made (and that has been widely repeated by other sources). If the sentence just said "He applied to 25 top universities and received an offer from each", that would be a problem. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 03:25, 20 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks User:Chocmilk03, appreciate your input Jack4576 (talk) 03:28, 20 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]