In the discussion about how to maintain a good online reputation, the CEO of reputation.com said that it is not just what you put online yourself. Someone may take your photo, upload it and tag it with your name. There you are, and it lives on the web forever. This is a little scary.

When my kids were teenagers and just beginning to drive, they would often chafe at the restrictions placed on them by angrily asking why I didn’t trust them. Parents everywhere have used this response, “It’s not you I am worried about. It is all the other nutty drivers out there!” It seems that we now need to worry about online reputation in much the same way.

Perusing my twitter stream a little while later, I ran across a tweet from @SteveMartinToGo, about an embarrassing piece in another online piece. It alleges that he, Steve Martin, jumped up on a table to sing to Sir Elton John. However, according to his tweet, he was not even there! “Lorne, trusting wife and I agree, where were we when this happened? http://tiny.cc/9runy Could it be they MADE THIS UP? Nah.” Later he tweets that this must be the only embarrassing event in the last 10 years that has not been filmed and placed on Youtube!

Steve Martin is monitoring his online reputation, but he is an actor, comedian, writer, and generally famous guy. What could possibly be out there about me that is untrue? I Googled myself for science. On a site I won’t name, my age is listed as 70. Hm. Not exactly a malicious lie, and my sons will tell you I am as old as dirt, but 70? Untrue.

Monitoring online reputation was also equated with monitoring your credit report. If you have had the misfortune of having a mistake on your credit report, you know the hassles involved in getting it fixed. It is especially maddening when the mistake is not the result of anything you have done. It is difficult and time consuming, and you can get the feeling that the people that can fix it, don’t really care to make it right. How much more of a challenge to repair an online reputation slammed by someone with too much time on their hands.

I have focused on personal online reputation management so far, but all this and more applies to businesses reputations online. Look for more reputation ramblings in a future post.

Have you Googled your name lately? What have you found that surprised you?

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1132146

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client - tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com, or find her on Twitter, @ReginaSillitti.

Online reputation management is becoming increasingly important to businesses of all sizes. A recent article in the Philadelphia Business Journal offers a great reminder that successful companies are proactive when it comes to protecting their brand on the net.

Comcast Protects Xfinity

Web Addresses Ready for Any Comcast Brand Displeasure (Note: Requires Subscription) describes a perfect example of the best defense is a good offense.  As Comcast rolls out its Xfinity service, Wilmington Delaware’s Corporation Service Company (CSC) has registered the majority of website addresses that would interest any disgruntled customer intent on sticking it to the man. Addresses ending in .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz and .tv for each of four names — xfinitysucks, xfinitytvsucks, xfinityinternetsucks and xfinityvoicesucks have all been registered. While CSC bills itself as as “your single source to secure, promote and protect brands,” the company could just as easily be a nefarious organization looking to damage Comcast or any other company.

Philadelphia Companies In Need of Protection (?)

Whether it’s foreign fraudsters, bored teenagers or customers that have had an uncustomary bad experience, smart businesses should take all reasonable precautions to protect their brand on the internet. After some thought, I took a few moments to find a few Philadelphia-area businesses that may need to protect themselves:

TastyKakeSucks.com
AstraZenecaSucks.com
AnthropologieSucks.com
PepBoysSucks.com
DietzandWatsonSucks.com

While these are intended only as an example, companies that deal directly with the public should take steps to avoid some neer-do-well ruining their hard work.

How Can an Online Reputation Be Protected?

It’s safe to say that protecting your online reputation will be a continual process, however creating a basic plan and sticking to it will help keep you out of trouble and minimize any damage. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Create a Plan – It doesn’t have to be an equivalent to the Normandy invasion, but a plan will keep you focused on what needs to be done.
2. Protect Your Domain – Register the .com, .net, .org, and .info versions of your primary domain name
3. Listen to What’s Being Said About You – Start by setting up a Google Alert to identify online mentions and listening using social media. You can learn more about it in a prior post .
4. Respond to Criticism When Appropriate – Face it, sometimes we screw up. Businesses, like humans, are imperfect. With this said, don’t feel as though every complaint warrants a response; they don’t. However, if a negative comment of significance is made, first try to resolve the issue and second ask them to amend their comment once satisfied.
5. Bury Bad Stuff When Necessary – Sometimes customers cannot be satisfied no matter what you do. If that bad comment or disparaging video bubbles on to the first page in Google, bury it with a competing post or video that will move the negative item off the first page.

OK, you may have noticed that I did not mention buying every version of your domain name appended by the term “sucks” – You got me there… Unless you serve hundreds of thousands of people and have more money than God, it probably won’t pay. But if you’re Comcast, it might.

How do you protect your online reputation? Have you heard any online reputation management horror stories? Please share them in the comments.

Bill Rowland