BUILDING ONLINE REPUTATIONS

Reading related essay: Search Me: Online Reputation Management

Until quite recently, building a reputation took years of hard work and proving yourself in society. Be they good and worthwhile or dangerous and unsavory, reputations involved memories of deeds done. Although a general impression was often retained, it was possible to escape one’s past and start again. Memories were not set in stone as they are now thanks to the internet.In the modern world, unlike tha past, an unfair and snide remark may stay around forever making starting up impossible. Since nothing on the internet is ever “forgotten”, online reputation management has been gaining ever more importance in the modern world. There are various ways, according to experts, a company or an individual can amend his reputation providing himself with new opportunities.

There are various solutions companies can resort to in order to improve their standing. The first thing they need to make sure of is that all that comes up on the first page of a Google search is positive and complementary, which is the case because most people don’t look beyond the first page as a rule. This can be achieved most easily by actually owning the assets on the first page; most globetrotting companies like Siemens, Sony and Toyota achieve this automatically. Failing that, false reviews may be posted on behalf of the company. Naturally, the most honest way of gaining actual control of the first page is by posting real assets where possible. If all else fails positive searches can be conducted until the penny drops with Google.  It is obvious that there is a lot that can be done in the modern world to manipulate a company’s reputation.

Individuals can also do a lot to help themselves by improving their online reputations. An obvious first step is joining big networking sites like LinkedIn, which has become one of the first places people will look when checking an individual out for a job. In the case of a lot people, there are photographs that one would rather forget about, thoughtless remarks one has made and wish one hadn’t out there on the web. One way to get rid of them is to make positive searches until your fingers bleed. Another good idea is to have online profiles lodged with professional listing sites. Then there is the silver bullet: establish a blog or website and update regularly. There is nothing like this to tidy up that first page in a Google search.

Although in the modern world nothing ‘is forgotten’, the undesirables can be buried so deep that they are effectively made to disappear. The techniques that can be used to affect such a transformation are relatively simple and well within the realms of possibility. Naturally, prevention is easier than cure and the best rule of thumb is to think before you post.

Provided by the Oracle