Forget Publicists, All The Cool Kids Have Online Reputation Managers

from the are-you-serious? dept

Fri, Feb 1st 2008 7:20am — Mike Masnick

It's been well-documented that Google has become something of the mythical permanent record teachers warned you about as kids. There are plenty of stories about people losing jobs or discovering dubious information about dates using Google. A few years back, services popped up claiming that they could scrub your online record clean -- though, how successful such services could be was certainly called into question. However, it appears that those services have morphed into a new, somewhat scary, category called online reputation management. While it's to be expected that corporations might have people monitoring online reputations, it's quite another thing to have individuals hire firms to do the same thing. From the description in the article, it sounds like this involves a combination of search engine optimization, plus legal bullying of anyone who says something you don't like. If anything, that sounds like a recipe for more trouble, but you can see how it would appeal to those who are unhappy with how they're perceived online. Obviously, it's no fun to have something bad about you exposed online, but efforts to suppress that information have a decent likelihood of backfiring and serving to highlight that information. I wonder if these online reputation managers have malpractice insurance for when that happens?

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: online reputation, reputation managers

44 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

The Procrastinator, 1 Feb 2008 @ 8:00am

I'll leave a comment later...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Urza, 1 Feb 2008 @ 8:02am

I like my name
My name is rather common. And my last name is Flowers, so you end up getting pages and pages of flower shops whose owners happen to share my first name. I do however periodically search with my name and hometown and name and screen name and remove whatever I find...but usually there's only one or two results.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Feb 2008 @ 8:27am

some 1 should tell the lawyer from http://techdirt.com/articles/20080128/02263889.shtml about that service
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Feb 2008 @ 8:41am

Maybe 1984 wasn't like "1984" but
In "1984" Winston Smith and his fellows actually had to go round up all the old newspapers and destroy them to change the past. The real Party of EngSoc will have a much easier time: they'll just send out a takedown notice for the offending web page.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
nipseyrussell, 1 Feb 2008 @ 8:55am

"I do however periodically search with my name and hometown and name and screen name and remove whatever I find"
and by remove, you mean what???
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Feb 2008 @ 8:59am

I have a relatively uncommon name, but searching for me finds another guy with the same name, same area of origin (I travel a lot but came from the Bay Area) and a similar profession. Except this guy is a lot more crass than I am.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Feb 2008 @ 10:08am

Re:
Sorry. I'll tone down my comments so you don't look as bad.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Feb 2008 @ 11:00am

It would be appreciated.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Feb 2008 @ 11:34am

I have stuff written about me in various corners of the internet, though there has been way more about me in the past, what is left now is the remnants of what I simply cannot get the website owners to remove. It didn't take me too long to get a lot of stuff removed, all it takes 95% of the time is a simple email to the webmaster, if they refuse to comply then I threaten legal action, although I wouldn't take it that far, most webmasters simply don't want to take the risk and just comply with me.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Dave, 1 Feb 2008 @ 11:42am

What to do to fix CDA 230?
It seems the real problem here is CDA 230. A webhost (like AutoAdmit or Encyclopedia Drmatica) can know that it has completely libelous and false information on its site, but then claim immunity under the Communications Decency Act. The real response is to sue the person who posted the libel, but if they used TOR or a proxy then there's nothing that can be done to find them.

Then the anonymous libel just gets left up on the site forever.

It'd be a much better system that if the original poster can't be found then the webhost has to be willing to take down the material or to defend it in court. It'd still take a subpoena to get IP addreses, just change the rules when the OP can't be found. Otherwise sites like ED and AutoAdmit can knowingly profit from libel, and intentionally be jerks about removing stuff.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Michael B. Del Camp, 1 Feb 2008 @ 12:10pm

This is what I need -- Online Reputation Managemen
Because I have had such a terrible time getting a job, and think either my by now lousy credit or the government or some kind of corporate or Republican network is "badmouthing" me, I think this is exactly the kind of reputation protection service that someone like myself could benefit from. Have my medical records been leaked? Are former employers bad talking me? Is it the absence of former agencies for whom I claim a year or more of work here or there? What with John McCain running as "the Manchurian Candidate" having spent years unsupervised in thrall to his North Vietnamese prison guards, did you know that Americans will not even be considered for a federal job in the U.S. Government nowadays, if you have travelled overseas for more than two weeks within the ten years of your background that they check? Also, those government jobs with benefits pay much better than private sector jobs, on the average. No wonder my private enterprise efforts at employment are so frustrating. Pretty soon, America will have no advantages and every disadvantage internationally, in business and economics and leading new enterprises and worker satisfaction levels. Case in point? Why, myself, of course! http://www.myspace.com/italosuave (check out my blogs) and http://www.youtube.com/mdelcamp1 (check out my channel(s)

[ link to this | view in thread ]
LiberaceLivesOn, 1 Feb 2008 @ 12:22pm

Filling a void in the law
If #10 is right, then there's a loophole in the law right now that lets really nasty things (like threats to rape and false accusations of having STDs) stay online with no recourse. You can't find the person who posted it, and the website claims to have no duty to take it down.

Looks like ReputationDefender is filling a pretty big void left by the law. Can we fix the loophole in CDA 230 instead? There has to be protection for legitimate whistleblowers, but some way for innocent victims to get recourse.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jeffrey Henderson, 1 Feb 2008 @ 3:51pm

Reputable Reputation Management Firm
Thanks Techdirt for bringing attention to this issue. I work for DONE! SEO, a leading provider for SERM services. You can find more info about us here:

http://www.doneseo.com/serm/

Here's some recent press about our firm.

http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2008/01/31/business/business.txt

Jeff Henderson
Business Development
DONE! SEO
www.doneseo.com
[ link to this | view in thread ]
A victim, 1 Feb 2008 @ 11:14pm

Don't belittle this issue
As someone who has suffered defamation online, I find the tone of this article offensive. Trying to have such material removed is not legal bullying; it's standing up to bullies.

Some of these people are quite arrogant in dealing with people they regard as powerless individuals. It's quite satisfying to see them backdown when lawyers become involved.

We need better laws.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Benjamin Wright, 2 Feb 2008 @ 10:01am

Social Network Terms of Service
To legally prevent an employer from using info from a social networking site, one might post terms of use that forbid such use. The idea is not legal advice, but it is something to think about.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
citizenj, 4 Feb 2008 @ 7:34am

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Interesting to see the parallels between online reps and the idea of 'whuffie' put out in C. Doctorow's 'Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom'. You can read it online for free. That said, if someone's putting bad stuff out there about you, counteract it by getting friends, family and even yourself to put good stuff out there about you, duh.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Reputation Management, 24 May 2008 @ 3:42pm

Great topic
I know reputation management would explode a few years ago and I think eventually it will overtake SEO in revenue generated.

Think about it, only companies need marketing, everyone needs reputation management.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Amit Mehta, 16 Jun 2008 @ 11:42pm

repuated seo firm
hi it was really use ful for me information about he seo Services,search engine optimisation for seo regarding category. To know more about search engine optimization seo india,seo firm India delhi,search engine marketing,search engine optimisation,internet marketing, website promotion SEO Services visit: www.unisoft-technologies.com
[ link to this | view in thread ]
SEO Services, 27 Jul 2008 @ 11:12pm

nice post
hi, this post is supervb, i bookmarked your post.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
website promotion, 7 Oct 2008 @ 8:59pm

website promotion
Your article is much more informatics for all of the visitor. I am very happy to read it. This is really very nice. Thank you for it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Online Marketing, 7 Oct 2008 @ 9:02pm

Online Marketing
Great post. Blogs are a very natural way to attract links. I’d love to see a post on how to get your company to blog. Particularly if you are dealing with a large, conservative company.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
search marketing, 16 Oct 2008 @ 6:00pm

search marketing
very useful articles…..I think seo off site more important and power full for geeting free traffic than seo on site, I already implemented for my web……so I am focus on off site optimisation…thanks
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Peter Markant, 16 Oct 2008 @ 8:05pm

Markant
So how does the future look to this?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
eorganics, 18 Jan 2009 @ 1:42am

Good Post
Offsite SEO is more important than onsite but without proper onsite SEO you cannot get high rankings.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Spartan Internet, 5 Feb 2009 @ 11:29pm

Hi Its Great post. Blogs are a very nice way to attract links. I impress to see this post on how to get your company to blog. thanks for this fantastic post. Get more information to spartan ...Spartan Internet Consulting, Spartan Internet, Spartan Internet Marketing Consulting
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Brennan, 21 May 2009 @ 5:21pm

Wow
I run an online reputation management company and I do not think this is something needed by the everyday person. We focus our services on businesses and high profile individuals as there may be things pop up in search engines that can lose them money and damage their reputation which could have many negative consequences. I think it is ridiculous for just the regular school kid to be needing a service such as that because in all reality no one will be searching their name and there is not much ROI involved. There have been cases such as nude/derogatory photos, personal information in documents and PDF's, and so on have gotten out and they need those taken down which usually ends up being a joint effort between our company and a law firm. Would love to speak with anyone who may need these services for their company. The Sayre Group
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jessy, 4 Jan 2010 @ 2:47pm

Thank you for sharing this article. Feel free to comment on my Blog
[ link to this | view in thread ]
gigsport, 24 Feb 2010 @ 2:52pm

Gig Sports
Gig Sport is an online ticket seller specialised in getting hard to find tickets for sold out music, theatre, festivals and sporting events at premium and competitive prices with Satisfaction Guaranteed Our aim is to provide fans with an excellent choice of Music tickets at a competitive market value. We want our customers to feel confident and secure so every ticket purchased from us is 100% guaranteed. http://www.gigsport.com
[ link to this | view in thread ]
karl@_Free Fast And Quick Backlinks, 1 Mar 2010 @ 4:44am

Thisz a especially nice Blog. Gratitude for the noble post! You've made some excellent points here. And confidently most community will agree with you. Thanks though, Im thankful some people share skilled stuff like this! It will greatly assist me in my
Thisz a especially decent Blog. Gratitude for the first-rate post! You made some excellent points here. And for most community will agree with you. Thanks though, Im delighted some people share high-quality stuff like this! It will greatly help out me in my SEO activities.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Li Ma, 18 Mar 2010 @ 10:39am

Interesting
Online reputation and online image are becoming more important than they ever were, from another blog that I recently read, Internet Marketing has become the new "word-of-mouth" marketing strategy. It can be very effective and efficient.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
search engine optimisation sydney, 6 Apr 2010 @ 6:54pm

search engine optimisation sydney
Google is TOP!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
limo in dc, 6 Aug 2010 @ 4:05pm

appreciation
there r a lot of a lot of excellent points on this page...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
amplifeid phones, 18 Aug 2010 @ 1:18pm

Thanks - great post as usual! There are some great things to be learnt looking at those sites.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
unknown, 24 Aug 2010 @ 1:40am

I have a relatively uncommon name, but searching for me finds another guy with the same name, same area of origin (I travel a lot but came from the Bay Area) and a similar profession. Except this guy is a lot more crass than I am.
SEO Pricing
[ link to this | view in thread ]
seo firm, 1 Sep 2010 @ 8:47am

can't believe everything you read
It's a shame that there are people out there who think if it's found on Google it must be truth. You can't believe everything you read people. Online reputation management sounds fishy to me. If you hire an seo firm to do your online marketing for you they will put more good things out there about you to outweigh anything bad that may be lingering.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
samantha, 4 Nov 2010 @ 9:18am

Seo Company
Excellent post. Really you are provide more information about seo.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Timothy Weissbrot, 30 Mar 2011 @ 6:05am

Online Reputation Management
http://timothyweissbrot.wordpress.com/

I fully agree with all the information has been presented here , everybody today has to take into consideration that their reputation is in danger over the net , each and every single day ! I suggest that at least once a week , everybody will google his name and the name of his company , just to check if there are any negative posts on the first two pages of google .
[ link to this | view in thread ]
James Morgan, 3 Apr 2011 @ 5:51pm

It's not surprising that someone would come up with a means to manage your reputation with Google, especially since the infamous Google slap which occurred about 9 months ago. online marketing is serious business and being shut down is nothing anyone wants to face.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Market Rats, 15 May 2012 @ 5:07am

!
Thanks - great post as usual! There are some great things to be learnt looking at those sites.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Giles McCallister, 18 Jul 2013 @ 5:30am

Positive comments should outweigh negative comments
Rather than using bullying tactics to remove any negative online comments, I thought that the whole point of online reputation management was to produce a wide range of positive comments so that eventually the positives outweigh the negatives?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
David, 17 Apr 2014 @ 10:02am

It is frequently wrongly accepted that contributing on a whole SEO bundle is not imperative Surprise Electrician . Individuals frequently state that SEO just includes embeddings various watchwords in your site, and there is no compelling reason to contract a whole group of web creators
[ link to this | view in thread ]
3D Animation Companies in india, 9 Jul 2014 @ 4:13am

This is a nice post in an interesting line of content. Thanks for sharing this article, great way of bring such topic to discussion. I found lots of interesting information here. The post was professionally written and I feel like the author has extensive knowledge in this subject.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Promotie, 28 Dec 2015 @ 3:40pm

personal data
The personal information google and other corporations sell your personal data for advertising for less than a dollar.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Digital Star, 18 Aug 2018 @ 12:21am

Nice article, thank you.
[ link to this | view in thread ]