The Internet: Once it's out...

It seems as though things done on the spur of the moment for a bit of fun can sometimes have a way of creeping back and reminding you of your bad judgment call. Just ask Miley Cyrus. In the early months of 2009 she appeared in the news over a photo that made its way on to the Internet showing her making slant-eye poses with her friends. I’m sure Vanessa Hudgens could vouch for it as well. In her case it was a series of nude photographs that an Internet source says she took for her boyfriend Zac Efron during 2007. Can you see the common factor in both of these instances? I’ll give you a hint: it has nothing to do with them having their careers start on the Disney channel. Figured it out yet? It was the fact that the damning information was leaked by a third party over the Internet. It could have been by someone looking to make a quick buck or a genuine mistake by a friend. Either way once the photos hit the net it made world headlines. Cyrus and Hudgens' reputations gained an extra little something that’s going to haunt them for the rest of their careers.

In class we have been discussing the importance of being aware of what information the Internet can provide about you. “What happens when someone types your name in Google and hits return?” The potential of what those results could bring back could have huge implications. For future employers it could be the deciding factor in whether you get the job you applied for or not. It’s so important to manage your online reputation these days. Keeping a critical eye on what’s going out there is paramount, from now on, the judgment calls we make is what’s going to define our careers. So next time you do something somewhere, and someone captures that special moment, just think: if it’s something that could be a problem in the future, do what you can to stop it from getting on to the Internet. However, if that fails then you may want to have a damage control plan ready to use.

Sites with helpful tips on reputation damage control:
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5 Steps for Successful Social Media Damage Control

Your Online Reputation Damage Control

How's your reputation?

The importance of having a good online reputation these days seems vital for workers in just about any major industry. For people looking for a career in the media it’s pretty much compulsory. With the ever increasing opportunities the web offers for social networking and self publicity, and the growing interest it’s collecting, more and more businesses are seeing an opening to a new audience and are turning to the internet to get recognised. It’s no longer uncommon to go onto a website and find an employees company blog or link allowing you to subscribe to an RSS feed or follow them on twitter. If anything it would be uncommon not to find one.

So what has any of this got to do with your online reputation? Well, if you want to be in the business, you have to be up with the play. If you’ve used sites like trademe or ebay, facebook, bebo, blogger, then you already have an online reputation. Everything you post, every picture you upload to share with your friends, adds to your reputation. What you put out there is what the rest of the world sees – even your future employers. What there is about you on the internet is what the rest of the world judges you by, comments, opinions, thoughts, they establish your identity and now, contribute to your future. So next time your searching for something, try typing in your own name, you might get a surprise!

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Links:

How to protect your online reputation

Manage your online reputation

Managing Your Online Reputation: A College Student’s Perspective