PCWorld had an extra article on reputation management today which I thought was particularly perceptive. The article goes on at length about how damaging Twitter, facebook, and blogs can be to a professional whose image really matters to their continued success.

As social sites with user-generated content such as Facebook, Twitter and WordPress continue to grow in popularity, and with Google’s announcement of  real-time search, you must be aware of and manage your online reputation carefully now. “Social media has made our lives very transparent,” Laratro says. “If you maintain a professional persona, this can be something positive, but if you’re unaware of comments or pictures online that you wouldn’t even want your mother to see, it can be terrible.”

As Google includes more and more sources and social networking becomes more personal and invasive, the importance of search engine reputation management will only increase.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/188207/how_to_protect_your_reputation_online.html

The NEBS Marketing Store put up an article explicitly to help small businesses to engage in successful reputation management strategies. More small businesses should be taking advantage of the ability to set themselves above the fray by using online reputation management services.

While the rise of social media and other web 2.0 platforms have created some valuable opportunities for small business marketing, they have also opened up a veritable Pandora’s box of reputation management.

And since a positive online presence can be one of the most valuable business resources available, it is now more important than ever for small business owners to be proactive in managing their online reputation

If businesses were to take advantage of the resources offered to them, internet defamation would be a much smaller problem than it is.

http://www.nebsmarketingstore.ca/news/business-sense/monitor_your_online_reputation_with_these_free_tools$629.html

Sarah Palin has long been a darling of the so-called “teaparties”, political groups all over the country opposed to tax and spending raises. However, she has caught a great deal of bad press over various endorsements and her $100,000 speaking fee at the National Tea Party Convention.

How much would you pay to get Sarah Palin to speak at your next event? How does $100,000 sound?

Documents obtained by Politico disclose Sarah Palin’s booking fee: “$100,000 a speech, with a discount to $75,000 for West Coast appearances.”

$100,000 is a good deal of money, but I don’t quite get the outrage. Bill Clinton charges similar fees, doesn’t he? Still, Sarah Palin can’t afford to have this sort of negative press dominating both the news and her online reputation. Methinks a little personal reputation management would go a long way here.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/07/palin-tea-party-speech-ne_n_414965.html

In the industry of Internet Reputation, we often get caught up in technical wording which can be lost on people who are not as technically proficient. The effect of this is that fewer people understand the points we’re making. However, I came across an article today which very effectively compared the offline world and the online one. The author of the article gave an example of a grocery store which was plagued by image problems but which managed to nevertheless improve its reputation in the small town.

There’s a large billboard on the main road in and out of town. This road is the one most traveled by residents on their commute. The company purchased the billboard and is running giant signs stating “Grocery Store X is NOT on strike.” It’s a simple billboard made up of just five words.

But it’s enough to make someone think.

It’s actually the way I first learned about the situation. I was on my way to my parents’ house for a visit and spotted the billboard. I ended up asking my mom what was going on and getting the full story.

The whole story is definitely worth a read. Click the link pasted below in order to read it in its entirety.

http://www.searchengineguide.com/jennifer-laycock/4-lessons-in-online-reputation-managemen.php

The most interesting thing about the Internet reputation management industry is that it is constantly changing and evolving. The search engines are constantly changing the ways in which they organize search results, companies are constantly changing how they deal with bad press, and industry professionals are forever finding new ways to help clients avoid bad reputations online.

This churning torrent of change that constantly batters the Internet–and the companies that depend upon it–can often lead to miscalculations. A perfect example of this is P&G’s latest foul-up.

P&G has launched what it considers to be the most significant improvement in its Pampers line of diapers, in 25 years. Unfortunately, the company decided to start shipping the new diapers in old packaging, without explaining the benefits of the new pooper-protector.

P&G is in desperate need of some Internet reputation management right about now.

http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2010/01/pampers-reputation-crisis-has-pg-crapping-itself.html