Most of life comes with “do’s and don’ts,” and beginning an online reputation management or Digital Branding project is no different. There are things that will absolutely benefit and reflect well on an individual or business when that name is researched online. There are things that can be very damaging. Wisdom comes from knowing what to do and what not to do. Here are several things to consider.

Do Define Your “Online Digital Brand”: Be intentional and set some time aside to actually see what is currently online when people search your name and ask yourself, “is that who I really am?” or even better, “is that how I want to be known?” What is it that makes you uniquely you? The information found during a search may well be from where many conclusions about you are drawn. Are you being served well by what is currently seen? If not, then define yourself. Be deliberate. Read the rest of this entry »

I didn’t know…

I didn’t understand…

I never knew this could happen…

Can you make it go away?

When my generation was young, it was much easier for our parents and teachers, even school administrators, to step in and “help us out” when we made mistakes.  Perhaps a parent made a call or sent a note to an influential person and poof!  Our problem was gone.  Maybe a teacher gave us another chance on a grade with the promise that the next semester they would expect more.  A school administrator might make a decision to withhold punishment, based upon an agreement with a family.  At times, even the judicial system was known to provide private mercy.

Things are much different today. Embarrassing mistakes and missteps are public now.  In the last week alone, I have personally seen life altering ramifications Read the rest of this entry »

When performing a search on Google, you may have noticed a series of Autocomplete suggestions. This drop-down menu in the search bar has the power to skew initial impressions offered for an individual or business.

As more information winds its way around the Internet, the need to maintain one’s online reputation becomes paramount. Searching for individual names is a common activity in many professional and personal circles, and Google’s Autocomplete has become a key component for online digital branding. Read the rest of this entry »

The bottom line is pretty simple.  You can run but you CANNOT hide!  As the horrific recent events in Boston showed the world, we are ALL connected.

For many years in my twenties and thirties, I was quick and proud to tell friends and associates, “I don’t do the Internet…” I didn’t want to be found online for a variety of reasons, and I believed that I could control everyone else’s ability to find me.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Even as Google and other search engines scour the universe looking for new information, many individuals still falsely believe they control their own search results online. Read the rest of this entry »

My grandfather was a true hero.  In World War 2 he served on a small boat with very unique responsibilities.  When I think of what he did for our country, I often wonder if I would have had the strength to volunteer for the service he provided.  The 1940’s were a much different time.  The technology we possessed as a nation was in its infancy and we utilized human intelligence and monitoring as our primary source of defense.

William Mundy, my grandfather, was a man’s man.  He was part of a generation that for the most part had never left their hometowns until service to their nation was required.  He left his young family in a Nashville, Tennessee suburb and took what would be the only international trip of his life.  He didn’t go to see the world.  He went to SAVE the world. Read the rest of this entry »

Will Rodgers is quoted as saying that you never get a second chance at a first impression. With the global dominance of the Internet, you don’t get a chance at a first impression. Your online content makes an initial impression about you, whether you want it to or not. Everyone has a Digital Brand, the only question is if you have participated in its creation.

Erroneous posts on the Internet are about as common as doing a daily Google search. Inaccurate information, innuendo, negative remarks and postings can be detrimental to a person’s actual reputation, not just his or her online reputation. The team at Reputation Advocate talks with businesses and professionals every day that face such issues. Read the rest of this entry »

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has just released a new service offering companies the ability to proactively protect their brands online from domainers and cybersquatters. The ICANN solution is called “The Trademark Clearinghouse” and appears to be an ideal solution for brands wanting to manage their online identities. The solution allows companies Read the rest of this entry »

OK, so I am trying to be cool. I live in Music City where the movers and shakers call each other baby; I saw it on the new network hit Nashville. So here is my point. Clive Davis is to the music business what the Pope is to the Vatican. He has been bigger than life for decades. He has iconic power, global recognition–and he is a dinosaur.

Clive just published a book with Simon & Schuster called The Soundtrack Of My Life. There are lots of juicy tidbits in the book. He is bisexual, he and Bob Dylan got into trash talk because Dylan felt like he was being censored and Clive cried at Whitney Houston’s funeral. But all this stuff pales in comparison to the stink that has developed between Clive Davis and Kelly Clarkson. Read the rest of this entry »

Simple recommendations to increase your online security

If large public corporations like Burger King and Jeep can have their social sites hacked, what are those of us with far fewer resources to do? Here are the cold hard facts–one billion Facebook accounts, over 500 million Twitter accounts and millions of blogs create both a universal connectedness and the potential for a lot of damage through malicious actions by unidentified entities.

When a global brand is hacked it makes the news. When it happens to a small business or individual it is not the least newsworthy–unless it is your account! Read the rest of this entry »

Almost every conversation that we have with prospective clients eventually comes around to cost, followed by a pregnant pause and then the question–why does it cost so much? This is an entirely reasonable question. Online reputation management work is expensive. Contracting for services with any reputation management firm is not an impulse decision. Our clients are intentional and view our work on their behalf as an investment in their business and/or career.

I can try and give you a simple answer and just say it is hard work and costs a lot. That is taking the easy way out, so I want to try and offer a more complete answer. Here are some of the variables: Read the rest of this entry »