Marketingweb takes a punctual look at what companies can do to protect their online reputations. The conclusion that they come to is that if you aren’t being proactive, you’re allowing any damage that comes to your online reputation. They are, of course, completely right on that count.

http://www.marketingweb.co.za/marketingweb/view/marketingweb/en/page74600?oid=122497&sn=Marketingweb%20detail

This blog post is certainly correct to point out that preparation is key to avoiding a reputation management crisis at any point in the future. Once one has an online libel problem, it can be undone–but it takes time. One way to cut down on the time requirements is to prepare beforehand.
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/080311-012436

This site goes through pretty much every reason why both businesses and employees should be concerned about their online reputation. The writer also makes a fair point that people are often able to manage their own online reputations. However, this is not always feasible–which is why their exists a range of personal reputation management companies.
http://www.careermag.com/articles/online-reputation-management-3758-article.html

This article is of International and human-rights concern, but I’d like to focus on a particular part of the article. The anonymity of the Internet is here celebrated, whereas Americans generally consider that anonymity to be a nuissance. The article also mentions that the government aggressively pursues internet libel suits, but makes no mention whatsoever of online reputation management as a way to combat libel online.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/technology/21iht-censor.html