The age of WEB 2.0 has brought with it power that can be weld in a wrong way. If in your business endeavors you end up working with a web savvy consumer who feels you've done him wrong, he could be slinging mud at you from cyberspace.
It is so easy these days to leave nasty comments on blogs or forums. There are sites where a consumer can write an unsavory note about you and your company, you may never know it's out there. How many people could be looking at it before you find out? How much lost business is it causing you? What about your reputation? The importance of keeping on top of your good name is obvious.
How do you know if someone is talking about you in cyberspace?
You can periodically go "google" yourself. But if you are looking for a consistent, automated results consider setting up a RSS feed that searches for your name and your company's name. Monitoring it this way you can find mentions of you and your business quickly.
Setting up an RSS feed to monitor is easy. Most people have a Gmail account, if not it's easy to get one. Once registered with Google the next step is to get Google Reader (it's FREE!). Here's the link http://www.google.com/reader/
Sign in to Google Reader and look for the "Add subscription" button.
To manage your reputation now configure the reader to send you alerts on the following keywords:
Your business name
Your domain name
Your company name
The following urls are what you should modify with your website and your own names and add to the Google reader
No one wants unhappy customers, but when it happens, you are entitled to know so you can hopefully correct the problem. If the consumer tries to get even online, at least now you will know and can take the appropriate action.
85 Comments on Protecting Your Good Name ~ updated to correct link
This is AWESOME information, KK!
Here's a good reason to check behind yourself....the assistant director at my son's daycare just got fired today for risque photos posted to her myspace page. Did she honestly think no one would see it? Bad promotion, no more job. Which is precisely what would happen to each of us if we get caught 'with our pants down' online.
I have never given this subject much thought. Goes to show how naive I am. I can't imagine anyone saying something bad about me BUT that doesn't mean it won't happen. <snicker>
Kristal - a true eyeopener in an often neglected aspect of Web 2.0. Thanks for providing some very practical and easily incorporated tools to effect this vital monitoring of our business and name. Thanks!
great tips Kristal.I think another one that is coming up more ( as it used to be more for kids ) and is now for everyone is My Space.Huge amount of readers there. Thanks again!
Carol ~ what I did find is all the times you have mentioned me in your blog! How cool of you! Thanks!
Kitsap Kid ~ you are welcome.
Eileen ~ the power of doing this is amazing. It's much more than Googling yourself. I like what your kids call it.
Lloyd ~ I've notice that adults are using MySpace. In fact in my searching today I located 3 adults who have a "borrowed" my photos for their space.
Carole ~ Google rules.
Christine ~ I love your term "bat signal". So it is. Try programming all the links I gave you in Google Feed Reader. It will pick up your AR and everything else. You will be ALL over! Only good stuff of course.
Kristal thank you for sharing, this is something I did not consider, but it could have a great impact on my business. I will be implementing the suggestions.
Another thing I did to protect my name was to buy various domains with my name in them. First thing I did was buy DeeCopeland.com, org, net, biz, etc. I also bought DeeCopelandHomes and others. You wouldn't want to become successful, then let someone buy the .net of your name. You may be able to take them to court, but it's a hassle.
Dee ~ good advice. I also read recently that we should be buying domains with "sucks" after our name. That makes sense for a big company and maybe even for ourselves....just in case.
Whew! Great info and advice for us. I've wondered about some of the blogs here that attack people (by name) and what those people will do when they read the post on the internet. Can you say lawsuit!
Regarding Dee's comment, a number of years ago when the internet was just beginning, a local team bought up the domain names of the top agents in town. When one of those agents went to buy their name, they learned it had already been purchased. They sued and won on the grounds that a person's name can't be bought like a brand or company name.
However, KK, your suggestion is appropriate as something like that happened here. The victim has sued and haven't heard the outcome yet.
Elaine ~ it is so easy to track names anymore. It is a good rule of thumb to never use someone's name unless you are praising them. I've had several instances of mentioning a name (in a good way) here on Active Rain and the next day that person visits my blog.
I've just started experimenting with Google Alerts, but this looks like a much more comprehensive solution. I'm not sure if I'm afraid of the he/she/it in your graphic or not. :) Where in cyberspace does this 'thing' reside??
Tonight I received a Google alert and found part of one of my AR posts on a sleasy site with my links removed. I sent them an email and told them to remove it immediately or they would hear from my attorney. Lovely world.
John Novak ~ Thanks for letting me know about the bad link, it's fixed now. My graphic resides in cyberspace, s/he is not posing for anymore photos at this time. S/he is very bashful.
Laurie ~ I hope you copied the offending site before you contacted them. I save them to my harddrive first then get nasty. At least this way I have the evidence.
Chris ~ So sad it's necessary, but its a good thing there are "professionals" to help correct the problem
Tim ~ You will be amazed. It's easy to do and extremely helpful.
KK - I haven't checked my info yet, but plan to do so. I'm thinking in addition to doing my name (Elaine Reese) and my web site (elainereese.com), I'll also check for my name as ElaineReese, without the dot-com and without the space between my name, since when I do that on searches, the search results are a little different.
KK - well I just set up my reader. There were no surprises other than someone emailing stock quotes to another person with my name. There was another link to some motivational speaker, but didn't find my name. However, he had tabs across the top such as "Featured speakers", "Motivational speakers", AND
"Female speakers" and "Women speakers". DUH-H-H-H, what's the difference????
Question: now that I've got this set up, will Reader email when something new is added or do I have to check it every so often?
Elaine ~ just make it a habit to go in and check it each day. There is another an automated program in Google that will send you updates. I can't remember if that is daily or weekly. It's worth checking out if you aren't in the habit of looking.
I've also set mine up for "denver real estate" just so I can see what happening on that scene. I've discovered some of my competitors using bogus blogs to spam the system. Gosh and here I sit blogging my brains out trying to add value in my own little way. I could be a spammer with no brain! hahaha
Wow, another "5". I have read just enough about RSS to understand what is and basics of how it works. You have just motivated me (and enabled, thanks!) to get out there and set up a reader for myself and start making use of the technology.
Another great blog Kristal. The internet is a powerful tool and i look up friends i havent talked to in a long and i find them right away, its just that easy !
Awesome Post!!! I google, yahoo, etc my name every morning when I fire up the laptop, but thanks for the info. I've been very fortunate in maintaining a good reputation in my field and area of service, but you never know what someone may write especially if you tell them something they don't want to hear.
Great info and I hope you don't mind if I subscribe to your blog!
KK... amazing article. I had no idea that I could do that. I was checking out the Incredible Agent site - - where you can rank your agent. I think sites like that can be very harmful. After reading your post I doubt that I would willingly participate. Thanks again.
The New York times published a whole article on finding info in cyberspace that may damage a person; a photo, slander, etc. I sent it to a family member who has a child with "colorful" my space photos and text. Any employer or college board can find it now, and who knows what will be stuck in cyber space in the future. There are organizations making a living "getting rid" of bad stuff on the web.
I'm all for watching your own name in the news feeds. It's a must to make sure there isn't something that is overlooked in print .... good OR bad.
I haven't read the 50+ other comments, but I think this is a great idea. I really hadn't thought much about someone trashing your name online, but anything happens on the internet these days. Thanks for the tips!
After you told me "just do it" I set up google alerts to notify me automatically of a few key phrases. This morning I got one about an article that was just written about a group I am in published in the local paper. I never would have seen it if I had not "just done it." Thanks KK!
Thanks for this timely info. I have a My Space acct & so do a lot of other MOMs in my area. That way we can monitor all the teens. Not a one has ever refused to "Be our Friend".
I see why this was a featured blog. I hadn't put much thought into how easy it could be to sling mud if wanted too. I've bookmarked this one so that I can set up the google search as you described. Thank you for sharing!
Kristal, you are an amazing person to have learned so much valuable stuff! I am dumbfounded by all the things I find out here on AR that I don't know. Thank you for sharing your discoveries with all of us...a million thanks!
Kristal, this is excellent information. I've been using google reader to follow posts on our company, my name, etc. for some time now. I found a competitor putting out a bid to clone our product this way. These are powerful tools if used correctly. Great stuff!
Kristal, thank you, thank you, thank you. I first heard of Google reader a few days ago, but apart from the initial mention of it, I wasn't able to get more info. Your post makes it so easy. I'm definitely doing this. Thank you for sharing so much practical advice.
I've used Google Alerts for a long time, and it's great. Hadn't thought of the RSS feeds you mentioned so will be implementing it this weekend. Thanks for the tip.
Thank you - I've heard about Google Reader, but didn't know exactly what it was for. I set it up just like you posted and it was so easy and will be very useful to keep on eye on. Thanks for the push to get it done.
Very cool Kristal, not that you need another person telling you. I use google alerts for the same thing but all I get are emails notifying me of what has come up where. This I can access easily on my cell phone though, which is a definite plus.
Thanks for all the kudos, I do appreciate your comments on this resurrected post. Times at work are very busy now, the blogging is working and the snow has melted. Birds are singing and I am running as fast as I can.
This is a very informative and great posting. This will be very helpful to my company who just discovered that we are a victim of exactly what you talk about. I saw an article in a Tampa real estate agent newspaper that quoted you with regard to protecting your name, etc online and followed that information to this blog. We are following the directions as I type. Our incidence with this issue arose a few months ago originally but we just discovered it the beginning of last week.
We had two different customers on a public forum slandering our company name (our company actually did not build their house, it was another affaliated company, under a separate name, that technically built their homes) and we tried to post the "other side of the story," the moderators of the forum removed all of our comments and banned us posting. When I asked the moderators why we were banned and our comments removed, they said that we were "attacking the other person" and posting personal information. when we explained that nothing we posted was any more personal than what the accusers had already divulged and that we were simply trying to defend an innocent company's excellent reputation (been in business over 50 years and built over 3,000 homes) they never replied and just continued to remove any postings put up by us in defense.
So, this is actually an ongoing issue right now that we aren't sure how to combat at this point other than with attorneys. The original accuser's comments have remained up which are referrencing the wrong company and causing damage to a good name. Very frustrating! Anyone that already gone through this please help!!!
Wow, what a great article! This is awesome information and goes so far beyond most articles out there. Personal Branding and name protection is key in the world of Google - which is both the 800 lb Gorilla and 10 ton Elephant (as in it "never forgets")
For agents who are seeking excellent representation, I also recommend checking out qAlias - Google Me - Andy Greider - for a sample...it works like a charm - and both protects and enhances your personal brand online.
The age of WEB 2.0 has brought with it power that can be weld in a wrong way. If in your business endeavors you end up working with a web savvy consumer who feels you've done him wrong, he could be slinging mud at you from cyberspace. 
Posted by
This is AWESOME information, KK!
Here's a good reason to check behind yourself....the assistant director at my son's daycare just got fired today for risque photos posted to her myspace page. Did she honestly think no one would see it? Bad promotion, no more job. Which is precisely what would happen to each of us if we get caught 'with our pants down' online.