Building an Offensive Reputation
Posted by goodmind on July 14th, 2008
We’re not quite sure what to make of this rising trend in internet reputation-management consultants. On the one hand, there’s certainly a demand for these folks, particularly as Google search results take the place of a more thorough background check.
On the other hand, the act of “managing” an online reputation seems so…slimy;
In addition to making positive references to their clients more Google-friendly, they can also create entirely new material, including blogs, Wikipedia entries, YouTube videos, and even entire websites sprinkled with key phrases.
If a client prefers a stealthier approach, reputation managers can look for content about a person or entity with a similar name to their client’s, then create links to those sites. That can push those to the top of search results, moving less flattering information well down the list. (via Portfolio.com)
Outside of the mafia, managing an offline reputation by paying people to say nice things about you, or, quite literally, “burying” the bad stuff is absurd. The reasonable approach would be to reach out and connect with other like minded individuals, and engagement of this sort is clearly the flavor of the month, if you read enough blogs.
Then why are online reputation management tactics so decidely defensive, rather than offensive? Sure, you can micro-manage your positive Google hits with SEO, and aptly timed press releases, but an online reputation isn’t the sum of it’s links; it’s about networking and momentum. There are actually platforms for doing this sort of thing. You might have heard of them.
FriendFeed, Twitter, Facebook, et al. provide an infrastructure for maintaining, and sustaining a reputation online, and in a sense, supply the people who will follow your reputation too. Unfortunately, it’s mighty difficult to mobilize an existing reputation unless you’re Steve Rubel, or Michael Arrington, or the fake Steve Jobs. A reputation needs momentum, and that’s what most social networks are missing.
For $10,000 a month, we’d expect our internet-reputation management consultant to manufacture momentum as service, and build us a network of followers, not fiddle around with our Google link juice.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
