Online Reputation Management (ORM) is a term that’s getting a lot of attention lately — and with good reason. Now that a generation of “Digital Natives” has entered the workforce, they are bringing with them a long trail of online records — including Spring Break photos and other “colorful” memorabilia that they might have preferred would be kept out of public view for a long while. But the information is all out there — and prospective employers, business partners, customers, competitors and colleagues all are availing themselves of the repository of personal and professional data that is only a search engine click away.
Unfortunately, there’s the “truth”…and then there’s the “Google Truth” — as online information can be notoriously inaccurate or incomplete. So what’s a prudent approach to effectively manage an online reputation?
For individuals (business reputation books will be covered in another post) a noteworthy text that recently crossed our desk is this no-nonsense guidebook…
“Do It Yourself Online Reputation Management”
Ever had that nagging feeling that your online “footprint” might be incomplete, inaccurate and/or out-of-date? When you’re ready to act on those instincts, you might choose to retain one of the major online reputation management firms. But if you are more of a “hands-on” personality, this pithy little handbook is a great place to begin. There’s no beating around the bush; no complex theories; and just enough background to educate and reassure the reader about what needs to be done — and why.
As the authors state in the introduction: “Hope is not a strategy. To repair or protect your online reputation you need to take action.”
In 15 brief chapters, this is a book you can breeze through during a lunch hour. Ah, but the implementation of it all…that will require some time. How much time? That depends on how thorough (or compulsive) you are — as even a basic online “makeover” requires considerable cut-and-paste activity in creating personal profiles on the suggested list of key sites. Just completing the basics prescription described here could easily consume the better part of a weekend; but the good news (actually, bad news if you were looking for a quick fix) is that the program can (and should) be implemented over time. (In order to steer clear of Mother Google’s spam filters, the authors recommend “spoon-feeding” your profile information to online sites over the course of several weeks.) So set aside a few minutes every morning to implement the strategies outlined here. I guarantee you’ll pick up some good habits in online reputation management — “basic hygiene” for the new media ecology.
Audit Your Online Reputation On The “Deep Web”
Where to begin? Start with the “Deep Web” — the Internet databases that are not visible to surface-level search engines. The authors list four of the main “DeepNet” resources that can be accessed without charge:
www.kgbpeople.com (Formerly “Whoozy.com”)
www.yasni.com (Described by the authors as “the world’s most popular people search engine”)
http://pipl.com (Designed to produce relevant information in a user-friendly fashion)
www.peekyou.com (Setting up a profile here can help you get “found” online.)
By spending time on these sites, you’ll be laying the foundations for an informal “audit” of your online presence. If this exercise alone doesn’t incent you to undertake an online reputation management “campaign,” perhaps you don’t need one. More likely, in my opinion, are these scenarios:
A) You will discover a hodgepodge of online references to you (and other people who share your name) — and you’ll want to impose a sense of order on the information that’s most important to your Internet presence; or,
B) You’ll find that your skills and accomplishments are not readily apparent to an online searcher — and you’ll want to generate relevant content to improve your strategic visibility.
With either of these outcomes, you’ll want to take action — and “DIY Online Reputation Management” will get you off to a good start.
“To control your online reputation means owning it. The only way to own your online reputation is to become totally transparent. Simply, the more you put on the Internet the more you control your online destiny.”
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