The efficacy of online reputation management is being proven each passing day, as companies large and small figure out how damaging online libel can be. The Internet is notoriously chaotic–it is governed by very few laws. More than any other sphere of media, the Internet can destroy a person or company’s reputation.

A company which has made all of its clients happy for many years can have its online reputation destroyed in a matter of seconds by an online blogger. Posting on forums, review sites, or creating a blog to attack that business can be done in less than 5 minutes–and all of these things could be incredibly damaging to the company’s future. Underhanded rivals or recently-fired employees often understand this and utilize it to exact revenge. Sometimes a dissatisfied customer goes online and makes a hyperbolic statement about the business–unwittingly doing far more damage that they really intended. In any case, online libel should be taken seriously by business owners before it becomes a problem for them, because afterward they won’t have a choice.