After having a nice recent conversation with Jeff Liebert lately, I read his fantastic post in the WMW supporter’s forum about Are Businesses and People Adapting to the WWW Publicity Machine? As a brief aside, he had a note about declaring his emancipation proclamation for owning his own name online, so I thought I’d give a few tidbits, based on some of the stuff I’ve done. I had that same AHA! moment several years ago, when I noticed my resume online ranking for my name, and decided it was time to take a more proactive approach. Google results are your new resume whether you’re going on a date, getting a job, or representing your company. Reputation management is the new personal branding. Here’s some tips on emancipating your reputation. It’s not EASY - but it’s better than having a video of someone singing bad karoake ranking for your name.
Over the past two days, I’ve been working with a very sharp gent by the name of Andres Galdames towards earning a certification from Clicktracks analytics. I will spare the usual soapbox shouting for clicktracks and just tell you that they rock and you’re a fool if you’re using other analytics. During the course of reviewing the material, Andres mentioned that he’s been trying to coin a new term - “The father in law syndrome” - so I told him it sounded like a good post, and that I’d do my best to help out.
Neil, Cameron, and I discussed this a bit today on their new show “Rush Hour”, which will hopefully bridge a gap in the two likeminded online communities.
Brian thought a contest for Ted Leonsis would be a good idea - and of course Michael’s always up for a bit of SEO experimenting. I think this “contest” offers a good opportunity to demonstrate the importance of rep management in a positive way. I created a Ted Leonsis page as well - so if that page manages to win - I’ll gladly donate Brian’s money to charity (Leukemia research). My plea to those that compete is that you keep it clean - focus on Ted’s accomplishments, and help teach people about the positive things he’s done instead of just being a wanker and tryin’ to get something to rank. I’ll gladly put up a bio or redirect after the first of the year, if Ted bothers to comment on the contest at all.
There’s a gentleman by the name of Ted Leonsis at AOL that wanted to rank well for his own name - I’m sure he’s a decent chap - and thought I’d help out by linking to Ted Leonsis at threadwatch, and Ted Leonsis at Johnon, and Ted Leonsis at Wolf-howl.com He’s a great example of why folks should be proactive about rep management for their own names.
