Protect Your Online Reputation
For better or worse, your digital reputation is your reputation. Every decision about you is going to be determined by a quick Google search, and you won’t have a chance to explain yourself if you don’t have a pristine reputation. Even if you don’t show up on Google, that just means you’re 10 times more vulnerable.
The key is to manage your online reputation before you have a problem. The mistake most people make is to think that because they’re good and decent people the Internet will think so too. The two are not connected. The accidental architecture of the web is such that one stray remark can radically change your digital profile.
So the first thing to do is to Google yourself. When people search for you, they should see all the terrific things that are true about you or your company. Own a webpage with your own name or your business name in the web address. Have a tasteful LinkedIn or Twitter account with your name in the user profile.
The aim is to occupy the real estate on your own search results. If someone attacks you online it’s almost always best to ignore it. You only want to respond if the material is very visible and demonstrably false otherwise just don’t respond.
