While in the process of completing an assignment, I came across a recent article by washingtonpost.com highlighting how Google is being used to manage our online reputation. Because of the simple fact that Google indexes millions of pages a day, information previously only accessible via hardcopy records are now freely available over the internet. If there is an online identity, there is online reputation vis a vis social networks, blogs and community oriented sites like YouTube.
The article mentioned a new company called Reputation Defender. I visited their website and found that, unsurprisingly, most of the founders and management team are actually non-communications professionals with prior expertise in areas like technology, law, software application and business development. The magic behind online reputation management is actually search-engine optimization (SEO) techniques. Theoretically, anyone who knows their way around the internet and who are tech-savvy can employ SEO techniques in the same way Reputation Defender does.
I feel that the problem with such “reputation specialists”, is that without the benefit of formal training in public relations, how would they see the bigger picture because the truth is you cannot separate online reputation from the ‘offline’ reputation because one affects the other. These should be managed synergistically. Reputation management therefore is best left to PR professionals. In the same vein, PR and communication agencies must learn to harness this technology because reputation management, whether online or offline, will be an important element in the communication mix of the wired generation. As PR continues to evolve, online reputation management will become an important aspect in the overall communication strategy.
