| Some people, or companies, spend years building up a | | | | sometimes deserved, and sometimes undeserved. It is |
| reputation with other individuals or customers. Warren | | | | easy to understand how someone could get a bad |
| Buffet once quoted as saying, “It takes 20 years to | | | | reputation and it be deserved, but there are many |
| build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Warren | | | | cases of undeserved bad reputations too, just as |
| Buffet has long been called the “Sage of | | | | there is in real life. We have all experienced it, one of |
| Omaha” for his wisdom in all things financial—but | | | | our friends has a bad reputation with someone else |
| here he imparts a bit of wisdom that is applicable both | | | | we know because of a miscommunication or isolated |
| to everyday life and to a niche industry: Internet | | | | act. The same thing happens on the Internet, except in |
| Reputation Management. This industry began in 2006 | | | | a much more severe manner. This is because from |
| as a way to protect minors in an online world that was | | | | the bowels of the Internet, any angry commenter, |
| becoming more and more invasive, via social | | | | disgruntled employee, ex-boyfriend, or unsatisfied client |
| networking sites like Myspace and Facebook. The | | | | can hurl insults and untruths at an individual or company. |
| industry has, since then, become a much more | | | | These negative comments will often show up in the |
| effective tool for combating what some call online | | | | top search results of companies and individuals, |
| vandalism of search results. | | | | resulting in online vandalism, or web defamation. |
| So what is online vandalism? When you put | | | | The most effective way to combat this damage to a |
| someone's name into a search engine (generally | | | | company or individual's reputation is not to comment |
| Google), you will see a page of results, a Google front | | | | on the blog posting, article, or forum post, this will only |
| or Google wall. These results are determined by a | | | | serve to increase the popularity of the negative link. |
| formula, an algorithm, used by that particular company. | | | | The guaranteed anonymity of the Internet allows any |
| This formula places importance on things like linking, | | | | user to maliciously attack you or your company's |
| traffic, etc. By using this formula, the search engine is | | | | reputation without suffering any consequences. Ignoring |
| able to take any search term and give you the most | | | | this assault on your reputation is not an answer either, |
| important links, the first ten of which are on the first | | | | though, since more and more people are looking to the |
| page. It is this first page that is most important, since | | | | Internet, and search engines especially, for information |
| most people rarely click through to a second or third | | | | about products, companies, and individuals. Internet |
| page of search results. Your online reputation | | | | Reputation Management is an industry which helps to |
| essentially consists of what people can find out about | | | | solve this convoluted problem. They help their clients, |
| you, or your company, by searching you online—so | | | | those whose reputations have been maligned, by |
| these search results have become quite important in | | | | publicizing them positively. By understanding how |
| shaping the publics opinion about celebrities, companies, | | | | search engines work, Internet Reputation Management |
| and products. | | | | professionals are able to decrease the rank of |
| Often when you search for a restaurant, company, or | | | | negative links in an individual's or company's search |
| person you will see negative results. This is an | | | | results and replace them with positive articles or blog |
| example of a negative online reputation, which is | | | | posts. |