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Protecting Your Good Name ~ updated to correct link

cyber woman 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/

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

For your website:

Technorati http://feeds.technorati.com/search/YOURWEBSITEHERE.com
Blogsearch http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch_feeds?q=YOURWEBSITEHERE.com
Blogpulse http://www.blogpulse.com/rss?query=YOURWEBSITEHERE.com
RSS Sphere http://rss.sphere.com/rss?q=YOURWEBSITEHERE.com

For configuring your name, it is necessary to add the "+" sign between each word. Use this format:

Technorati http://feeds.technorati.com/search/%22kristal+kraft%22
Blogsearch http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch_feeds?q=%22kristal+kraft%22
Blogpulse http://www.blogpulse.com/rss?query=%22kristal+kraft%22
RSS Sphere http://rss.sphere.com/rss?q=%22kristal+kraft%22

Knowledge is Power

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.

Kristal Kraft, Realtor selling Denver Real Estate and celebrating 10 YEARS of Web presence! 1997+

Posted by Kristal Kraft ~Denver Real Estate~303-589-2022 on 03/07/2007 02:06 PM

Comments (85)

protect your name, rss feed

Originally posted at: Denver Real Estate & Relocation: Protecting Your Good Name ~ updated to correct link

Post is included in group: Active Rain Groups
Post is included in group: Tech Corner
Post is included in group: Real Estate Risk Managment

85 Comments on Protecting Your Good Name ~ updated to correct link

JAN

2007

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.

Leigh ~ Myspace is responsible for the downfall of many users. I don't know what those kids are thinking...

Glad you like the post, try setting up the RSS feeds (if you haven't already). Lots of GOOD STUFF shows up from Active Rain!)

Wow Kristal,

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!

KK,

Thanks for 'plainin' how to do this...I Google my name periodically...interesting to see how many links pop up.

My kids call it Ego Google. They are so Web 2!

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!

Gmail it is then, glad to know they will allow an RSS feed. Good stuff kk

I cant get AR to run in my RSS Feeder. Ugh. BUT.. I do have the Google alerts - that is a must for anyone! Its kind of like a Bat Signal..

Good thinkin' KK! I'm bookmarking this so that I can get it done soon.

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.

MF ~ Don't just bookmark it, just do it! :)

Thanks all.

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.

Jennifer ~ use it in good health, mostly you will find lots of good things about you out there!

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.

JAN

2007

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??

Dee, I agree I also purchased all of the domains

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.

Kristal,

Great post. Everyone should be following their good and bad presence on the internet.

I wrote a post a while back about cleaning up one's internet image. If it is too tricky to get cleaned up, there are professionals.

Thanks Kristal,

Never thought about setting it up like that. I will definitely follow your instructions. Thanks for sharing.

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.

I know, I know, I know. I gotta just do it, but I am overwhelmed with just do's today.

And it's been days since I have written a post here.

kk, Yes, I copied the whole works. I cant believe the nerve of some people.

Gee I try not to think about people talking about me. It kind of makes me paranoid

Kristal,

Thanks I set up a google reader on myself. I appreciate the information.

Erik

Gotta say it again... a great BIG THANK YOU! This info is vital to keeping your name (domain and personal name) Klean!

JAN

2007

MF ~ I know what you mean. It is hard to keep up with everything we must do.

Laurie ~ In addition to copying everything is it a "registered copyright?" If so you have more rights. Statutory rights that will cost them!

Teresa ~ OK paranoia is good.

Erik ~ You are welcome, hope all news is good news!

Joanne ~ Yes, Keep it Klean! :)

Thanks all!

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.

You are SO good and provide SUCH good info!!!

Elaine ~ that is an excellent idea. So many people don't spell names correctly, so I can see why that is a very good idea.

ATTA GIRL AWARD...... because you always teach us GOOD STUFF! Thanks a bunch!

Thanks Fran...I like those!

Awesome KK thanks! I'm busy with the cut and paste right now! How do you come up with all of this great stuff?

JAN

2007

Kristal :: Just saw this one. This is some very good advise and well laid out. Thank you!

Jeff ~ glad to help.

Thanks,

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

Elaine ~ you can set up an automated search in Google Alerts

http://www.google.com/alerts

KK great information and well put. Thank you.

Jay

Terrific information, Kristal. Don't know how I missed this the first time. Have to do what you suggest...so you've been bookmarked. :)

Jeff

Jay & Jeff ~ You are both welcome, hope it works out well for you.

JAN

2007

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.

Muchas gracias.

Beth you are very welcome. Please let me know how it goes.

MAR

2007

Wow Kristal, I guess I somehow missed this post the first time around but THANKS! Great info to have and thanks to Betsy for sharing it!

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 !

Eddy

Great blog, KK...I am bookmarking it...man i did not know you could findout stuff like that...a really informative post girl!!

=-)

Kristal,

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!

Elaine Reese was just talking about this entry yesterday when we were both in the office. She was looking for who was talking about her.

Thanks Kristal - Good food for thought. Keep them coming and have a great day.

KK-

Thanks for that tip --I was wonderinghow someone knew I mentioned their name in a blog.

WOW --I feel like I am back at school --learning everyday at this forum.

Good stuff

Kristal,

We've come to expect nothing less from you.

Great post!

Matt Pellerin
PhoenixHomes.com

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.

Always a had of the pack... and always willing to share.

MUCH appreciated!

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".

Kathleen Lordbock

Re$ale Design

kk - thanks for the useful information - i will be following the road map and implementing this evening.

Thanks for the heads up. I had no idea how to do this type of thing! So far so good -- no bad press! I'll keep an eye on it now!

Thanks for the info Kristal, not good if someone is bad mouthing you on the web and you don't know it! I'll hang onto this post...

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!

KK,

Another fabulous post of relavant information. Thanks I read and learn from you often.

Knowledge ispower, as you point out. Thanks for sharing your knowledge...and Power!

KK:

Always like reading your post. Full of great information. Keep warm. The weather is improving. Love that mile high city.

Ken

Another Great blog....Keep them coming.

Kristal,

Thanks for the post. Definitely useful in today's cyber world. I'm off to do some googling! Oh and yes, this one's bookmarked.

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!

~Deborah

MAR

2007

That is great information. One more thing on my list of tasks. Thank you.

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!

See, there is a method to my madness. If you repost it, she will come.....

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.

I am going to try to do this. I am not sure I understand how.....I might need to get my husband's help.

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!

If anyone Google's my name..I'm not the Movie Star....I'm the Realtor!

KK,

I knew if someone would know, it would be you. Thank you for the links and information. I love reading your posts.

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.

Hope everyone is busy and doing well.

Ciao,

MAR

2007

Thanks Kristal, I followed your instructions exactly, it was a piece of cake!

Can't thank you enough. This information is golden.

MAR

2007

Krissy, you're so smart! How do u KNOW all this stuff???!

I wanna be like YOU when I grow up! ;)

www.Condelee.com

MAY

2007

Kristal,

Excellent stuff! Thanks for sharing.

JUN

2007

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!!!

Thanks!

APR

2008

Krystal-

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.

APR

2008

Excellent information. Thanks so much!

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