Entries from October 2008 ↓

ReputationDefender is proud to announce a partnership with PeopleFinders.com that will allow increased privacy for individuals on the web. Quoting from the MarketWatch Report:

PeopleFinders.com ( www.peoplefinders.com), the premier online service that helps consumers quickly find and connect with anyone, anywhere, today announced that it has partnered with ReputationDefender ( www.reputationdefender.com), the world’s leading comprehensive online reputation management and privacy company. Through the partnership, PeopleFinders.com will provide users with the ability to opt-out of the PeopleFinders.com database via ReputationDefender’s MyPrivacy product — thus removing their personal information and contact details from search results.

As the only people search service that owns billions of public records spanning the last 40 years, PeopleFinders.com is sensitive to the fact that some individuals prefer not to be found. When ReputationDefender users opt to remove their personal information from the PeopleFinders.com database, PeopleFinders.com will allow for the seamless removal of that information from its systems. Together, this partnership enables PeopleFinders.com and ReputationDefender to provide additional value to customers and improve personal privacy on the Internet.

 

“Our goal is to help educate consumers by providing them with useful and accurate information about people and businesses,” said Bryce Lane, president and COO of PeopleFinders.com. “At the same time, we respect consumer privacy and are collaborative in our approach to helping individuals monitor and manage their online identities. Through our partnership with ReputationDefender, the leading online personal privacy company, consumers can easily control what personal information is available through our service.”

 

“ReputationDefender’s mission is to help people present an accurate and positive online identity and deliver to consumers more control over what information is available about them online,” said Michael Fertik, CEO and founder of ReputationDefender. “This partnership demonstrates PeopleFinders.com’s commitment to personal privacy and provides consumers with the opportunity to manage the amount of personal information available about them online.”

 

MyPrivacy, ReputationDefender’s personal privacy product, helps users remove personally identifiable information such as name, address and phone number from the largest people search databases on the Web.

 

About PeopleFinders.com

 

PeopleFinders.com is the premier online service that helps consumers quickly find and connect with anyone, anywhere. The service provides comprehensive searches including people search, background checks, criminal checks, business ownership and other public records. PeopleFinders.com is the only company that can search billions of records spanning the last 40 years, making search results more comprehensive and accurate than competitors. PeopleFinders.com was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Sacramento, California. For more information, visit www.peoplefinders.com.

 

About ReputationDefender, Inc.

 

Founded in 2006, ReputationDefender is the global leader in end-to-end online privacy and reputation management solutions for consumers. Its product suite, consisting of MyReputation, MyPrivacy, MyChild and MyEdge, focuses wholly on preserving the personal privacy and reputation of the company’s worldwide customer base, representing over 35 countries. ReputationDefender, Inc. is privately funded and headquartered in Redwood City, California. To learn more about ReputationDefender, visit www.ReputationDefender.com.

ReputationDefender is excited to work in concert with PeopleFinders.com to help increase online privacy and manage online identity. You can sign up for MyPrivacy for $4.95 per month and join the Global Do Not Call List.

ReputationDefender Blog has written extensively on Online Privacy Protection and how a social, shared, online existence is leading to increased privacy concerns and the need to proactively manage one’s Online Reputation.

TechCrunch has an interesting study up today that documents Flickr Privacy settings across the world. It looks like unless you are in Utah, Americans enjoy sharing their photos with everyone online. Quoting from the page:

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This picture was presented by Elizabeth Churchill, Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo at a meeting I am attending today. It shows the privacy settings of a sample of a million Flickr users from 2005. Red spots note users who have photo sharing turned off (private), green shows users who have photo sharing turned on (public).

The results are fascinating. The US is widely public except for users who seem to be hovering around Utah, and varies by state. Europe, by contrast, is largely private, and more so as you move north. The Middle East is wide open. South East Asia is mixed. India is private.

ReputationDefender is the leader in Online Privacy and managing professional identities online. Check out MyPrivacy and learn how to remove personal information from the internet. Join the Global Do Not Call List today.

ReputationDefender Blog reader Simon wrote in after reading this ReputationDefender Blog Post about Barack Obama purchasing ads in video games. Simon points us to a PBS piece by Chris O’Brien that looks at how the newspaper industry can transition into the digital space by studying Obama’s online and interactive communication strategy.

Of course, a lot has already been written about how Obama’s campaign has utilized social networking and micro-financing to turn his campaign into a broad-based movement. The record $150 million he raised in September is testament to that strategy. He’s mastered the viral nature of the Internet to tap into a swell of grassroots support that will likely be hard to stop next month.

But what struck me, in the case of the videogame ads, was how his campaign had employed a strategy that reached far beyond the Internet to communicate. No platform is too big, or too small. If they think there is a significant community to be reached, they’ve gone after them wherever they are.

And they’re not just re-purposing messages. Instead, they’re creating messages tailored to each specific platform. Beyond the videogames, here are just three more that come to mind:

• Twitter: This is the best known, perhaps. Obama’s Twitter account now has 102,247 followers, one of the largest on Twitter. Obama’s campaign primarily uses the account to put out links to videos, short campaign announcements, and brief messages.

• iPhone application: This nifty little application can be downloaded from the iTunes store to your iPhone where it searches your contact list for phone numbers of people in battleground states. When it finds relevant numbers, it alerts you and suggests you call that person. It also pulls in news and video updates.

• Text messages: The plan to announce the selection of his running mate via text messages was a dud. But in the process, he got thousands to volunteer their mobile phone number which has allowed the campaign to continue blasting out updates wherever someone is.

The article is exceedingly well written and well worth reading. Special thanks to alert reader Simon, too, for participating in the meaningful conversations we try to engender on ReputationDefender Blog. As media continues to diversify, managing personal and corporate reputations becomes more important and more complex. ReputationDefender remains the market leader for personal brand management and Online Identity Management.

ReputationDefender Blog recently found this story of an employee allegedly taking a sick day and then getting caught playing hookie on Facebook. This is not the first time that Facebook updates have hindered professional development, as bosses, teachers and hiring managers are increasingly connected to the social networking scene.

An Oz call centre employee has become an overnight net celeb down under after an email exchange between him and his firm’s workforce manager regarding a “sickie” escaped into the wild yesterday.

The correspondence, currently doing the rounds of Aussie inboxes, concerns a day’s leave of absence claimed by Kyle Doyle on 21 August.

From: Niresh Regmi
Sent: Wednesday, 27 August 2008 9:35 a.m.
To: Kyle Doyle
Subject: Absence on Thursday 21st 2008

Hi Kyle,
Please provide a medical certificate stating a valid reason for your sick leave on Thursday 21st 2008.
Thank You

NIRESH REGMI
Real Time Manager, Workforce Operations

---

From: Kyle Doyle
Sent: Wednesday, 27 August 2008 9:38 a.m.
To: Niresh Regmi
Subject: RE: Absence on Thursday 21st 2008

Niresh,
1 day leave absences do not require a medical certificate as stated in my contract, provided I have stated that I am on leave for medical reasons.
Thanks
Regards,

Kyle Doyle
Resolutions Expert – Technical

---

From: Niresh Regmi
Sent: Wednesday, 27 August 2008 9:39 a.m.
To: Kyle Doyle
Subject: RE: Absence on Thursday 21st 2008

Hi Kyle,
Usually that is the case, as per your contract. However please note that leave during these occasions is only granted for genuine medical reasons. You line manager has determined that your leave was not due to medical reasons and as such we cannot grant leave on this occasion.

NIRESH REGMI

---

From: Kyle Doyle
Sent: Wednesday, 27 August 2008 9:43 a.m.
To: Niresh Regmi
Subject: RE: Absence on Thursday 21st 2008

Hi Niresh,
My leave was due to medical reasons, so you cannot deny leave based on a line manager’s discretion, with no proof, please process leave as requested.
Thanks
Regards,

Kyle Doyle

---

From: Niresh Regmi
Sent: Wednesday, 27 August 2008 9:50 a.m.
To: Kyle Doyle
Subject: RE: Absence on Thursday 21st 2008

Hi Kyle,
I believe the proof that you are after is below

Brilliant. To his credit, the busted Doyle concludes:

From: Kyle Doyle
Sent: Wednesday, 27 August 2008 9:55 a.m.
To: Niresh Regmi
Subject: RE: Absence on Thursday 21st 2008

HAHAHA LMAO epic fail
No worries man
Regards,

Kyle Doyle

ReputationDefender first noticed this story on Digg, where it was noted in the comments that the tale of social networking shenanigans was likely a fake.

After appearing in newspapers, websites and televisions around the world, the matter appeared to be approaching its 15-minute use-by date – until AAPT issued a statement claiming it was bogus.

“Following an investigation into AAPT’s email records, we can confirm the email exchange between two of our employees … never occurred,” the telco said in a statement.

“This issue will continue to be dealt with internally, as a matter of standard company process.”

A company spokeswoman would not elaborate on any theories about how the alleged email exchange became public or could have been created.

The latest developments, however, will create speculation that the exchange was cooked up by trouble-seeking colleagues of Mr Doyle and his boss.

Meanwhile, Mr Doyle, who lists his political views as “Liberal Party of Australia”, has been uncontactable and AAPT staff were ordered not to discuss their most famous colleague.

However his incriminating Facebook page now lists his status as “trying to hide :/.” It has also been innundated with messages of support – including 175 personal messages.

Even if these messages are forgeries, the point still applies that one’s actions on the internet can affect one’s real world reputation and underscores the point that proactively controling online identity is necessary in the wired world.

ReputationDefender Blog, recently ran into this Breitbart article on Digg that points to a recent military report that says Twitter could be used by terrorists.

A draft US Army intelligence report has identified the popular micro-blogging service Twitter, Global Positioning System maps and voice-changing software as potential terrorist tools. 

[SNIP]

“Extremist and terrorist use of Twitter could evolve over time to reflect tactics that are already evolving in use by hacktivists and activists for surveillance,” it said. “This could theoretically be combined with targeting.”

The report outlined scenarios in which militants could make use of Twitter, combined with such programs as Google Maps or cell phone pictures or video, to carry out an ambush or detonate explosives.

“Terrorists could theoretically use Twitter social networking in the US as an operation tool,” it said. “However, it is unclear whether that same theoretical tool would be available to terrorists in other countries and to what extent.”

Besides Twitter, the report examined the potential use by militants of Global Positioning Systems and other technologies.

Twitter is certainly changing the way people connect online, and, like all means of communication, can be used for good or for ill. ReputationDefender Blog has covered tweets before and you can check out ReputationDefender on Twitter for more web 2.0 connectivity.