In the digital age, searching your name on Google, Bing, and other internet search engines is an essential defensive practice. The purpose goes well beyond propping up an individual’s ego. Why? Because the public places a lot of importance on the search results for what they look up.

Plus, vanity searching (another term for egosurfing) may be humbling rather than encouraging. When an unwanted blast from the past pops up online, the repercussions can be harmful to your digital presence.

In this article, we’ll explain the role of vanity searching when working on your digital reputation.

Call us at (844) 458-6735 for an in-depth digital presence audit and valuable insights from an expert.

Name Associations Matter

Search engine algorithms are great for locating names in their massive databases. But when it comes to distinguishing between similar personas online, they can often lead to confusion. That’s potentially damaging to your personal online reputation.

Ensure that the results that pop up for your own name or pseudonym are actually associated with you. This requires you to search beyond surface-level mentions of your name, especially if you have a common name.

You may need to add modifiers, like your location, middle name, or profession. Also, check search results under the news and image categories in addition to the main search results page.

This type of advanced egosurfing can uncover misassociations with others online who have the same name, which need immediate correction.

You can’t rely on the due diligence of others to distinguish errors in the initial Google search. It’s true that interested parties — such as employers and lending institutions — will usually perform a more intensive background check later. But a negative search result can screen you out of that process long before that happens.

Get started today with ORM. Give us a call at (844) 458-6735 to learn more.

No Web Presence Is Worst of All

There’s also the possible scenario that vanity searching produces no results at all for your own name. While most people have some type of web presence, there are those who cherish their online privacy and have intentionally avoided establishing an online presence.

However, having no online personal reputation at all can be just as damaging as having a negative reputation. Maintaining a positive online presence is now paramount in our hyper-communicating world.

Take the world of online dating as an example. Half of all online daters use search engines to learn more about the people they meet online. However, 30% of them opt not to meet up with a person if they find negative information or no information at all about them.

As bad as negative search results are, no online footprint at all might be even worse in the professional world, too. For example, online communication skills are frequently an indicator that a job candidate is knowledgeable and able to thrive in the digital age.

If your name produces no results at all in the initial search, searchers will raise doubts about your ability to use today’s most basic business tool: the internet. Or, the screener may suspect that you’re hiding your digital dirt by using an alias.

Egosurfing is Defensive Googling

In order to address a problem, you’ll first need to be aware that a problem exists. Egosurfing is your ORM radar.

Searching for your own name is the best first step toward personal reputation management. The practice lets you monitor those critical top listings on the first search engine result page (SERP), which are all about you — or at least about someone with the same name, as we discussed earlier.

When someone mentions your name online, tags you in a photo, or retaliates because you’ve unknowingly stepped on their toes in some way, you need to know about it.

The practice of egosurfing is even more essential when we find ourselves at those turning points in life. Buying a new house, leasing an apartment, or making a career move all elicit an online search. All of these turning points bring an increased level of online scrutiny, and burying your head in the sand while hoping for the best is not an option.

Anyone seeking employment, building a professional career, or even beginning new social relationships will benefit from egosurfing. Defensive googling is a must before entering any scenario in which your digital reputation will be the subject of scrutiny. That includes making a career move, buying a house, applying for loans, or launching a startup.

People Are Already Searching For You Online

For many, ORM is even more important than your resume. Recruiters, employers, prospective clients, college admissions administrators, and even that potential match with your significant other all hop online to learn about you first. Add to that list realtors, landlords, investors, and loan officers, and it becomes obvious that maintaining an accurate digital reputation is important for anyone who isn’t living off the grid.

Your Online Footprint Matters

Your online footprint can be the first step toward a rewarding new job. Or, it can be the muddy impression that rules you out as a good fit.

An offhand comment or bawdy image of you on social networking sites might have been funny to your Facebook friends, but it may be totally inappropriate for your future boss to view when it pops up in their initial Google search.

Social networking sites are common sources for negative search results. The wisest candidates are those who ego surf and use defensive Googling to clean up those old muddy footprints before they make a career move. They know any major life change is sure to place them under intensive scrutiny.

Old arrest records, mugshots, and court cases can all appear in search engine databases and affect your personal brand, too. When the source of negativity associated with your name is a third-party person or organization beyond your control, Reputation Sciences has the proprietary digital tools you need to be prepared for that scrutiny by placing the reins of search engine rankings in your hands.

Contact us today at (844) 458-6735 to speak with an ORM expert.

Claim Your Name Online

If you haven’t established a positive web presence yet, there are tried-and-true ways to establish and enhance your personal online reputation.

There are many sites that let you set up detailed profiles and begin to create the narrative. For professionals, LinkedIn is an excellent tool for telling the story of you to the public.

Many sites, like LinkedIn and other popular social platforms, frequently rank highly in Google SERPs. To differentiate yourself from others with the same name, add modifiers like your middle name or initial, your location, or your profession.

On other sites beyond social platforms, consider publishing knowledgeable articles. This will highlight your communication skills, show your authority in your niche, and control the online conversation about you.

Don’t Ignore Your Online Reputation

Reliance on search engine results is a double-edged sword.

An established presence enables you to show up first online. It opens the doors to a new career, as well as financial and social opportunities. However, ignoring the effects of a negative online reputation can be disastrous.

Today, most people need to be proactive in the management of their personal reputations online. As reliance on the almighty search engines increases, this is one problem that certainly won’t go away by ignoring it.

If you’ve been repeatedly passed over for jobs, struggled to get past the application process with leasing agreements, or were continuously rejected by lending institutions, it’s time to do some serious egosurfing.

This is your chance to survey the landscape of your online footprint. If your name has been associated with a mugshot of someone who shares your name, for example, you need to know about it immediately.

Egosurfing Is Time Well-Spent

For most people, once they’re aware of a digital reputation problem, they can take action to fix it.

You can clean up your social media posts and delete blog posts and images that are no longer appropriate or helpful. You can increase your web presence if it’s been lacking and use egosurfing to monitor your progress.

These are great first steps to take in your personal reputation management. Just bear in mind that you don’t always have access to the delete button when government databases or other third parties allow access to your personal information.

If a particular comment or inappropriate image associated with your name has gone viral, it will be quite a chore to contact each website administrator to have it removed. And even then, their compliance with your wishes may not happen.

The good news? You can go beyond the basic fundamentals of personal reputation management and call in the experts.

Contact Our ORM Experts Today

At Reputation Sciences, we have the proven proprietary digital tools that let you take control of the online conversation about you, your business, or your corporation.

When you’re ready to take charge of your online reputation, don’t hesitate to call (844) 458-6735 to speak with an expert.

The post Ego Surfing: Your First Defense in Online Reputation Management appeared first on Reputation Sciences.

Everything Posted Online Is Here To Stay

In today’s digital age, it’s easy to forget that every comment, like, emoji, blog, and forum post we attach our names to is written on an unerasable whiteboard with indelible ink. Everything online is permanent. Despite assurances from the popular social sites that we can delete our content at any time, the internet never forgets.

That frat party picture that everyone found so hilarious 15 years ago can disappear from specific sites. But the digital trail it blazed lingers on the internet permanently. Though you may not be able to see it, it’s out there and ready to be dug up, and what was funny for the carefree frat boy of yesteryear could be disastrous to the high-profile executive he is today.

From 24-hour monitoring to upscale content creation and promotion, our team of ORM experts can help you create the online presence you deserve. Contact us at (844) 458-6735 for more information.

Your Online Activity Never Goes Away

There is no handy undo button to call back digital bits of free-floating speech should we find ourselves in the regrettable state of posting remorse.

In the book Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, which looks at the unprecedented phenomenon of “perfect remembering,” the author analyzes the unforeseen consequences in the digital age. One of the observations made is, “Potentially humiliating content on Facebook is enshrined in cyberspace for future employers to see.”

Add to the indelible whiteboard a dearth of outdated information, statements that have been taken out of context, compromising photos and videos, and the ultimate free-speech nature of the internet, which allows anyone in the world to chime in at any time with any comment, screenshot, or file they choose.

Now consider that the indelibly inked whiteboard (with your name inscribed in bold title font at the top) is supported by technology that makes all of this data available with the click of a mouse. Today’s internet is more user-friendly than ever. And it doesn’t take an IT expert to take advantage of inexpensive cloud storage, increasingly powerful software as a service (SaaS), and easy global access. As the internet goes mobile, the worldwide whiteboard is wide open for posts from anyone with a smartphone.

In Delete, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger proposes that all information should have an expiration date. A brilliant solution, but not one which is likely to function retroactively, if it ever does happen. The book has been out for 15 years, and the internet is still the Wild West of unregulated, undeletable information with no expiration date.

Find out how to create the online reputation you deserve by calling (844) 458-6735 today.

What Happens When Professional Athletes Post Before They Think?

Below, we’ll take a look at the consequences of some prominent blunders committed by well-known athletes when they chose to venture out into the unpredictable social media world beyond the white lines. Then, we’ll look at some of the solutions you can use to take charge of your web presence and control the conversation concerning your online reputation in the digital age that never forgets.

It’s a case of fighting science with science. And at Reputation Sciences, we have the proprietary digital solutions to offer control of the un-deletable whiteboard of the internet. 

But for now, consider these cases of prominent individuals who should have thought twice before hitting the “send” button.

NFL Draft Dollars Up in Smoke

In 2016, Ole Miss football player Laremy Tunsil had high hopes for himself in the NFL draft. The top-ranked tackle was expected to begin an illustrious NFL career from the number 1, 2, or 3 spots.

Unfortunately, a picture of the talented prospect taking a bong hit with a gas mask surfaced on his Instagram account on draft day. Even though the bong picture had been shot two years prior at a fraternity house, it surfaced at just the wrong time for Tunsil.

The notorious bong picture led to text messages being pirated from the young hopeful’s iCloud account. The messages discussed questionable money requests between Tunsil and the athletic director at the University of Mississippi.

The disastrous timing of the two hacks is now an infamous case of malicious social media sabotage. It likely came from an embittered former “business advisor.” But that didn’t stop Tunsil from plummeting from the top 3 draft prospects at the time.

The Miami Dolphins eventually picked up the left tackle at the #13 spot. That’s an estimated loss of $10 to $12 million for Tunsil.

Your Past Can Always Come Back to Haunt You

Laremy Tunsil’s online catastrophe demonstrates not only the potential for severe financial loss, but it’s also an excellent example of the lingering effect of social media in the digital age.

ESPN picked up screenshots of the incriminating text messages, and they went viral. To this day, in 2018, Tunsil’s tarnished reputation remains because of that single bong picture. The incident is locked in for posterity and mentioned in his bio on Wikipedia, with the “draft day” fiasco appearing prominently in internet searches.

How was Laremy Tunsil hacked? The media circus continues to this day, involving NCAA investigators and the FBI. However, those involved are remaining tight-lipped about the incident.

Apparently, the shadowy “business advisor” provided Tunsil with a new Apple device. And the naive youngster accepted an offer to have his account information transferred by that unscrupulous individual during the setup process. That’s when he broke the cardinal rule of the internet: He gave away his iCloud account password.

That opened the gate to the barrage of online attacks and the media circus that still haunts him today.

Olympic Swimmer’s Tweet Sinks Jaguar Endorsement

For Stephanie Rice, three Olympic gold medals for swimming and the Medal of the Order of Australia were no insurance against online activity going awry.

A blunt 17-character tweet cost her an endorsement and the late-model $100,000-plus Jaguar that was one of the luxurious perks of her sponsorship by Jaguar Australia.

In a burst of patriotic enthusiasm, then 22-year-old Rice posted a short but homophobic comment supporting her nation’s rugby victory when Australia’s Wallabies defeated South Africa’s Springboks. Later, Rice admitted that her tweet was sent without discretion in “the excitement of the moment,” according to this report at Reuters.

The 3-time gold medal winner had over 100,000 followers on Twitter alone, so the retweets went viral and caught the attention of the ever-vigilant sports media. As they say, the rest is history.

The chagrined swimmer quickly apologized and removed the comment, but as we’ve already learned, that couldn’t prevent an exponential storm of retweets heard around the world. This is one of the hazards for athletes and other prominent personalities with huge numbers of followers.

The damage was beyond repair, despite the apologetic blog post from Rice. Jaguar Australia general manager Kevin Goult made a public statement in a press release, saying:

“Jaguar Australia today terminated its relationship with Stephanie Rice, who has been an ambassador for the Jaguar brand in Australia since the start of 2010.”

Stephanie Rice’s case underlines the fact that there is no such thing as yesterday’s news. 

Online Reputation Management: What Stephanie Rice Got Right

As an Olympic competitor, Stephanie Rice spent her career overcoming obstacles. She didn’t allow the fallout from the indiscreet tweet to rule the online conversation for long.

While the internet never forgets, there are effective countermeasures you can take to prioritize what appears online. You can work to place the positive boldly at the top and suppress the negative to the bottom fine print.

When assessing Stephanie Rice’s web presence today, it’s obvious that the former Olympian invested in her online reputation management strategy. A search for “Stephanie Rice swimmer” (to distinguish her from the country singer of the same name) brings up an impressive list highlighting the positive aspects of her web presence. 

The top search results include her Instagram photos and videos and positive YouTube video links. The infamous 8-year-old tweet has a new home at the back of the Google search engine results page (SERP). However, it is still there for anyone who wants to dredge it to the surface again.

How to End Your NCAA Career in 280 Characters or Less

Social platforms can be a double-edged sword. And unfortunately, too many young athletes underestimate the lasting impact of their social media posts.

On the one hand, college admissions officers often Google applicants as part of the acceptance process. Having a positive digital footprint on social platforms and beyond can provide a competitive advantage.

On the other hand, indiscriminate posts by carefree, innocently short-sighted high school student-athletes can nip NCAA careers in the bud and the scholarships that come with them.

With social media fails becoming so prevalent among athletes at all levels, colleges are reacting with increased vigilance to reduce their chances of press liability. Administrators are now so sensitive to the issue that the high-school prospect who merely posts to TikTok 16 times a day may be seen as a loose cannon to be avoided because the frequency of posts is considered excessive without even considering the content of them.

That’s similar to what happened to a young quarterback up for a Division 1 scholarship in North Carolina, according to the article Don’t Let One Bad Tweet Ruin an Athlete’s Future.

Be Diligent About What’s Posted Online

High school athletes with a muddy social media trail of cyberbullying and commenting on hot-button topics can post themselves out of consideration. 

For young athletes and students, and their concerned parents, the message is clear: You’re never too young to take personal online reputation management seriously.

Concentrate your efforts on building a positive personal brand. Then, you can gain an advantage in the college admissions process and the competitive world of sports scholarships.

Make ORM the Norm

At Reputation Sciences, we provide the essential online reputation management (ORM) tools you need to control the conversation that’s visible to the ever-expanding online world.

The internet and social media are here to stay. They compile everything you’ve ever done online into the ultimately transparent permanent public record. Smartphones abound, with high-resolution audio- and video-recording capabilities that put George Orwell’s Big Brother to shame. In the web-based world, we’re always on stage, but we don’t always control the spotlight. ORM is the solution to take back that control.

All of us in the digital age are vulnerable to attacks on our online reputations. Whether attacks originate from a self-inflicted lack of experience or those reacting to a perceived injustice, they’re present. As we move up in society, we’re likely to step on a few toes. And we may not be aware of it until the offended party takes their revenge online.

Ex-spouses, disgruntled customers, professional rivals, rogue employees, and truly any individual can scribble all over our public profiles and digital reputation. That tarnishes our indelible worldwide whiteboard, which records every aspect of our online reputations for public consumption. Whether we work in the spotlight or on the local stage, we’re all on the worldwide stage of the digital age.

Contact Us Today

While everything online is permanent, hiding from the digital spotlight is not a viable solution in today’s world. If you don’t control the conversation surrounding your online reputation, someone else will.

Set social media aside for a minute. Even old public records have made the digital transformation from the basement file cabinet to the public internet. Mugshots, court cases, FCC violations, and arrest records are all there waiting for fresh eyes. Anyone can evaluate your public profile for career opportunities or exploitation.

At Reputation Sciences, we have the proprietary technology to protect your personal, professional, and corporate brands with a digital strategy you can count on. Are you ready to take the reins of your online reputation and build a brand that shows you in the best possible light to the world? Don’t hesitate to contact us at (844) 458-6735 for a free consultation.

The post Is Everything on the Internet Permanent? How Your Online History Is a Public Record appeared first on Reputation Sciences.