My concerns here are related to the fact that this is such a great way for someone to cause a blog owner problems for reasons other than terrorist acts. A competitor doesn’t like another business – flag ‘em as a terrorist. Once things settle down, the situation will probably sort itself out – but at the expense of the flagged business. Cheap retaliation for those with a lack of conscience.

And why just Blogger? There are lots of other public places one can express themselves. There are so many blogging outlets, the proposed button would have to be placed at the browser level to give the viewers a quick and easy way of talking to the government about inappropriate content.

Do we want the government policing blogs through out readers like Senator Lieberman suggests? Do we want to worry about being mistaken for a terrorist because our last boyfriend is really pissed off? Or because a disgruntled employee is taking out her revenge?

I am someone who believes in the best of everyone. I think that people do the best they can with what they have even though sometimes they might look less than stellar in their actions. And I believe that I have the right to express an opinion without the fear of reprisal from those who may not agree. Granted, I’m not planning to overthrow my government. I’m no threat to anyone. But I do work with clients who are suffering from reputation damage online because someone is posting negativity online about them.

It is an awful experience when you are being attacked for no other reason that unfair competition. One of my clients finally gave up and closed down their business to restart under another name with a different business model.

I support free speech in almost every situation. I do draw the line at overtly harmful material posted online, anywhere by anyone. I don’t feel that an opinion is off-limits, but when the comments arouse the audience to harm to others, not acceptable.

When all is said and done, I think Senator Lieberman is being naive to think that a button to flag terrorist content on Blogger will do much to help stop terrorism. We stop terrorism at levels way higher than Blogger.

First, we created a blog, www.morrisvswestfield.com, with the complaint and the facts of the case presented online. Once everything was in place, a press release was sent out for worldwide release. Within minutes, the story began showing up everywhere. Additional support for the release was offered through Twitter postings and retweets.

If you wish to follow this as a case study, it is the perfect example of how a well-managed reputation management campaign can get your message out to the right audience.

Chesa

Apparently not.  After one month into this one-year project, I billed them for the first month’s work and continued working.  Oh, by the way, I never work this way — billing in arrears.  As any consultant will tell you, you need advance payment to begin your project because work done as a service can’t be recalled for lack of payment.  But I softened on these guys — they have a good product. I know I could build their brand recognition and increase their sales using my strategies.  And after so many conversations, I also thought I was dealing with an honorable company.  Not to mention that I was working with my partner who was doing other work for them when he referred me to them.

Well, I billed mid-November 2009 and here it is the first of February and not a dime has come my way.  I have talked to them, emailed them and offered to accept payments. Nothing.

What is their reason for not paying?  Well, it seems a little false, but they said they didn’t see any results from my work after one month.  Anyone who know anything about SEO, ORM and the Internet knows that immediate results are a pipe dream especially for a start-up company with a relatively new product.  I was in the first month of a 12-month project building the foundation for the year.  Since sales were down from the month of October, they seemed to be looking for any excuse at all to simply not pay.

Two Courts

I have two options:  the Court of Law or the Court of Public Opinion.  Given the cost of a lawsuit, you can imagine that I am pondering the Court of Public Opinion. My dilemma is that it is my job to help my clients manage their online reputation.  I help repair a negative online reputation; I help build a non-existent online reputation (like this client); or I help pave the way for future problem solving by creating a strong online presence in a troublesome industry.

I am simply not interested in damaging anyone’s reputation online.

Likewise, TAO Consultants has been in business for more than 27 years, I am not used to being taken advantage of and my own reputation in my area of expertise is impeccable. I have earned my reputation with successful results for my clients. Ignoring this lack of payment puts me into a frame of reference I am simply not used to.

So let me ask for comments. What would you do? Let it go or go over to the dark side by going public with this client’s name and web address?

I leave it to you.

Chesa Keane

Two companies that have experienced reputation problems in 2009 are Trader Joe’s and Sigg.  Trader Joe’s was ranked 17th out of 20 grocery store chains and the worst among national chains in sustainable seafood practices because of its lack of publicly available purchasing policies.  Around the same time, Sigg, a water bottle brand popular among environmentally-conscious consumers, revealed that its bottle linings contained bispenol-A, a hormone-disrupting chemical.  Worse, the CEO had to admit publicly that he had known about it long before the public revelation.

These two companies had a slight advantage in managing these crises because of their well-established brands and good environmental track records prior to these incidents.  However, without strong branding, a company faced with environmental issues can be in jeopardy of irreparable damage before the problems are corrected.

Authors Stephen Linaweaver and Brad Bate suggest that there are three steps that any company should take to manage crisis:

• Know what you know – and what you need to find out. Environmental issues are often complicated and proactive research to determine a corporation’s vulnerability can shorten the time of response in the face of crisis.
• Acknowledge the event, and put it in context. Responding to an event quickly in a manner that recognizes the big picture rather than focusing too closely on specifics can place the proper emphasis on the issue without dwelling on it.
• Engage in dialogue. Environmental issues create an opportunity to communicate with the accusing organizations because their acknowledged purpose is to bring about change, not simply attack the “bad guys.”  Developing a positive relationship with activist environmental organizations can open the doors to both sides sharing what they know, believe and want, leading to a positive resolution.

For the full articles, read more…

Chesa
www.computergoddess.com

Now you might think this is not such a bad thing, but Angwin as a journalist felt stuck in the past and her work as a longtime media and technology reporter was not shining or showing up well-positioned for a search on her name.  Frankly, this one article wasn’t representing her career very well.

This issue is a prime example of someone who wants to change or enhance their reputation online.  However, this isn’t the worst issue I’ve come across, but annoying for Angwin just the same.  And she decided to go about changing her online reputation and her story is outlined clearly in an article, It’s a New Me (As Seen on Google) in The Wall Street Journal | Personal Technology.

The really interesting thing about this article is that it follows the strategy we use in our business to change, enhance, subdue, or repair reputations online.  While she did the work herself, she had some good advice and she followed it well.  Read her whole story about changing her online Google image for the details.

Then contact TAO Consultants if you need help changing your online reputation.

Chesa
www.computergoddess.com