ReputationDefender

Breakups are always difficult. Things are said that can’t be taken back. Feelings are hurt. Pornographic images and video of your ex are posted online and emailed to thousands of strangers. You know, the usual.

In all seriousness, however, Revenge Porn, which we’ve written about on the ReputationDefender Blog before, is a growing problem in the Internet age. Given the ease with which people can post and share information online, it only takes one jaded ex with an itchy trigger finger to mouse click your sexual escapades to the world.

Of course, once the  material is posted, it’s too late for the offender to simply apologize. Removing information from the web is no easy feat and judges are beginning to crack down on this kind of defamation. For instance, take the case of the Italian man who was jailed for over two years after uploading pornographic images of his ex-girlfriend. As angry as he may have been over the breakup, I doubt he’d repeat his actions if he knew he faced that kind of sentence.

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Everyone knows the Internet can be a crazy place. Sex, violence, LOLCats; practically anything can be found on the web if you know where to look. Of course, this hasn’t always sat well with the elders of our society, which is why there have been many attempts over the years to censor explicit content from the impressionable minds of children. But, what if the explicit content on the web is actually coming from children?

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Recently, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com teamed up for a survey on teen and young adult Internet use. The results of the survey, which were shared recently at ars technica, are stunning. According to the findings, 20% of teens (13-19 years old) have uploaded and shared nude pictures of themselves online. When the study takes young adults into account (20-26 years old) , this number goes up to over 30%.

Why are these numbers so high?

Some have argued that teens do not understand the potential damage their actions can cause years down the road. While this is possible for some, the National Campaign survey shows that almost 75% of the teens are aware that sending explicit material over the web “can have serious negative consequences”. On the other hand, perhaps this is one of those issues where teens don’t really understand the consequences until it’s too late.

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This past January, ReputationDefender Blog wrote about the case of a Pennsylvania teacher who was dismissed from her job for posting a photo on her MySpace page labeled Drunk Pirate. The picture, though relatively tame by most standards, was judged by the school to be indicative of the teacher’s lack of professionalism and proved to be enough to send her on her way.

Naturally, she disagreed and filed a lawsuit appealing the decision. The result, which has been up in the air for some time, finally came down Wednesday and, according to Ars Technica, the teacher’s appeal didn’t stick.

Quoting from the article:

On Wednesday, however, the judge tossed that claim as well. Snyder, Diamond found, “was an apprentice more akin to a public employee/teacher than a student” during her time at CV High. As such, the First Amendment protects her speech about matters of “public concern”—she couldn’t be barred from the student-teaching program for expressing an unpopular political opinion—but not personal MySpace postings the school found to be unprofessional. Moreover, once the school had declined to certify her completion of the program, Millersville administrators had no authority to override the degree requirements to award Snyder a teaching diploma.

While it is regrettable that Ms. Snyder did not win her appeal, this is just one more sign that diligent online reputation management is critical in the Internet age.

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Question: What do Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, and President-elect Barack Obama all have in common?

Answer: All three of them, along with the Japanese anime series Naruto and the pro wrestling company WWE, can be found on the Yahoo’s 2008 list of top  searches.

Unsurprisingly, in our celeb obsessed culture,  five of the top ten spots are occupied by Hollywood elite. (Six if you count Barack Obama!) The real question for the list is, what does this mean for the average person?

The answer is that, while Yahoo maintains a substantially lower percentage of the search market than Google (20.5% to the big G’s 63.1%), there are still millions of people who regularly use the site to retrieve information on the web. Because each search engine uses different algorithms to determine rankings, it is important to know where you stand on both sites.

So, while you may not have the same magnetic draw as Angelina Jolie or Runescape,  it is still possible people are punching in your name on Yahoo. This is why the experts at ReputationDefender are such valuable partners to have in helping keep your good name clean on the net.

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Almost everyone who uses the Internet daily uses a search engine like Google. It is the fastest and easiest way to get information. But what if the information you’re accessing is about the best way to murder?

While covering the story of a Florida mother charged with the murder of her 3-year-old daughter, MSNBC revealed that prosecutors have discovered significant and chilling evidence on the suspect’s home computer. Apparently, someone had been using the computer to search for information on murder techniques, proper disposal of bodies, and more grisly information.

From the article:

Someone performed Internet searches for “neck breaking” and “household weapons” on the home computer of a Florida mother charged with killing her missing 3-year-old daughter, according to court documents released Wednesday.

The Orange County State Attorney’s office released almost 800 pages of discovery documents in the case of 22-year-old Casey Anthony, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in the June disappearance of her daughter Caylee.

On March 17, someone used the Anthonys’ home computer to do Google searches for peroxide, shovels, acetone, alcohol and how to make chloroform. Traces of chloroform, which is used to induce unconsciousness, were found in the trunk of Casey Anthony’s car during forensic testing by a Tennessee lab.

This issue provides an interesting, albeit unsettling look into how people use Google and other search engines. Increasingly we find that our digital life and offline reality are connected in the digital age.

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According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, suicide is “the third leading cause of death for 15-to-24-year-olds”. Claiming thousands of lives each year, suicide has been called an “epidemic” by some youth health professionals and proves to be a difficult problem to manage.

So, what makes the story of 19-year-old Abraham Briggs unique? At approximately 3 AM early Wednesday morning, the Florida teen overdosed on a combination opiates and benzodiazepine to a live audience of 185 viewers at the website Justin.tv.

According to reports, Briggs announced his intent in a forum at bodybuilding.com which subsequently linked to the webcast. While some viewers pondered Briggs’ seriousness, others jokingly encouraged his actions. It wasn’t until 12 hours later that police received a tip to check on the young man. By then, it was too late.

While it is arguable that the actions of the viewers had any real effect on this young man’s decision to end his life (his parents have acknowledged that he suffered from bipolar disorder) it is nevertheless sad to observe such callousness on display. Even after it was clear that Briggs had died, the comments continued with people writing things like “LOL” and “OMFG”. Some of the comments can be seen in the below image which shows police retrieving the teen’s body.

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Suicide is an absolute tragedy. What’s even sadder is the way that technology and the anonymity of the net have made people cold to the terrible hurt their actions are capable of causing. From the sad case of Megan Meier to this most recent story,  it is apparent that people are becoming increasingly disconnected from reality every time they sit down in front of the computer. As the Internet continues to take on an ever more important role in people’s lives, it is important that we learn to practice the same kind of civility and respect on the web as we do in our everyday lives.

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Almost all college students are familiar with the website JuciyCampus.com. The site, which is live on hundreds of campuses across the United States, was created in 2007 to provide college students with an anonymous forum for discussing campus gossip and other “juicy” topics. Unsurprisingly, the site quickly became host to malicious attacks on students and scurrilous mischaracterizations of people’s character.

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Naturally, the students who were hurt by the site believed it to be nothing but a forum for baseless slander. In this regard, they have been very vocal in their criticism of JuicyCampus and have even spurred investigations from the Attorneys General of New Jersey and Connecticut. Despite this however, JuicyCampus has still been able to operate with relative immunity thanks to the Communications Decency Act of 1996 which says, basically, that any content posted on a website is not the responsibility of the site owner or webmaster.

Because of this,  many colleges have considered blocking access to the site completely. The optimal word in that sentence, however, is considered. Facing issues of First Amendment rights and the freedom of speech, no college has officially moved to ban the site.

That is, of course, until now. Thanks to the actions of Tennesee State University Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Freeman,  TSU has become the first public university in the country to ban JuicyCampus.

It will be interesting to see if any other colleges follow in TSU’s tracks. How will websites like JuicyCampus function in the future if they continue to get blocked, or if the laws change?

For more information on JuicyCampus, check out this article for ABC News featuring ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik.

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ReputationDefender Blog caught a compelling article from CNN yesterday reexamining the story of former Army machine gunner Colby Buzzell. Buzzell, who was deployed to Iraq in November of 2003, began blogging about his war experiences anonymously to share with the world the reality of the war.

Buzzell’s candid style and frank language was compelling and his first-hand experiences were shared unfiltered for anyone to see. Unlike traditional media, Buzzel’s blog provided a fully accurate view of the brutality and severity of combat. Whereas a nightly newscast might mention a firefight, Buzzel could actually desribe it with detail.

Because of their intense nature, it wasn’t long before Buzzel’s posts began receiving mainstream attention. Buzzel’s gripping first-person account of an ambush on American troops in Mosul, in particular received siginificant exposure. Unfortunately, it was this same post which drew the ire of his superiors.

From the CNN Article:

The “Men in Black” post attracted media attention, and Buzzell was flooded with e-mails and interview requests from around the world. Based on his descriptions of the Mosul attacks, his commanding officers soon figured out that he was the blog’s author.

The Army confined Buzzell to the base and began monitoring his posts. Then, after he posted an anti-Iraq war rant by Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, they ordered him to stop blogging.

Buzzell’s Iraq blog lasted just 10 weeks, but it helped pave the way for others to follow.

While the story goes on to explain that the Army’s official policy toward blogging is positive, they encourage soldiers to express themselves, it is interesting to see another example of a blog leading to punitive action. While it is understandable that the army would monitor a soldier’s blog for the sake of mission security, it still provides a compelling refutation of the “anonymity” of the web.

While Colby Buzzell was able to turn his blog into a book and a freelance writing career, others haven’t been as lucky. Just because you don’t sign your name to a blog or a forum, it doesn’t mean others won’t still be able to figure out who you are. This is why taking an active stance in the management of your online reputation is critical to success in the Internet era.

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According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, 22% of employers already use social networking sites to evaluate potential candidates with an additional 9% planning to do so in the near future. Despite this fact, however, the percentage of employees who have modified their social networking profiles for potential employers is only 16%.This notable disparity shows that people’s awareness of their online identity is still lacking.

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In analyzing this survey last week, ReputationDefender Blog offered its readers some advice on how to manage their reputations online and make a positive online impression. To continue along that same train of thought, here are a few more measures individuals can take to manage their online reputations.

From the CareerBuilder Article:

Do update your profile regularly

“Keep your profile updated, even when you’re not looking for a job,” recommends Patrice-Anne Rutledge, author of “The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking.” “Recruiters love to find top-notch passive job candidates and having a current profile can help you land your dream job when you least expect it.”

Don’t badmouth your current or previous employer

You know that griping about your current boss is a grave error during an interview, and it’s just as detrimental on your profile. Give hiring managers the idea that eventually you’ll be tarnishing their image if you part ways with the company and you’ll be crossed of their lists of candidates.

Also, if you’re currently employed, don’t forget any confidentiality and conduct agreements you’ve signed, Vergara reminds. You don’t want to violate your contract and end up jobless while you hunt for a new position.

Do join groups…selectively

One of the fun elements of networking sites is that you can connect with other people who share your same interests and have your quirky sense of humor. Thus you end up with virtual groups like “I Drink More Beer than Water.”

The silly group might seem harmless enough to you, but for a hiring manager trying to find a mature candidate for an open position, it doesn’t leave a great impression.

“No one is going to hire the consultant doing the keg stand or the lawyer that belongs to the anarchist forum,” says Patricia Sanchez-Abril, an expert on privacy and networking sites and professor of business law at the University of Miami. Instead opt for groups that show your professional aspirations or social involvement, such as an organization for advertising professionals or the charity you volunteer at.

Don’t mention your job search if you’re still employed

If your boss knows you’re on the lookout for a new job, then by all means let it be known. However, if you’re attempting to keep your search below the radar, Vergara recommends restraint. Even if your boss isn’t your online friend, somebody can get the information back to him or her.

Do go on the offensive

If you want to use your networking profile as a tool, review the pictures you’ve uploaded, the personal information you’ve disclosed and any personal blogs or sites you’ve linked to. Don’t wait until you’re interviewing to go back and clean up your profile because the hiring manager probably already had a look.

“Get rid of your digital dirt,” says Rutledge. “A large percentage of recruiters ‘Google’ potential candidates to see what they can find out about them — both the good and the bad. Be sure that you don’t have any information on social networks or other sites that could make a recruiter decide to pass on you as a job candidate.”

Don’t forget others can see your friends

Unless you’ve opted to keep your friends list private, your friends can see the contacts you’ve made. So in addition to keeping your friends’ risque pictures and comments off of your profile, be cautious about whom you friend and when.

“Connecting to five people at Company XYZ after a day of vacation is a sure sign you are interviewing,” Vergara cautions.

Ultimately you need to remember that social networking profiles can mean potential bosses are evaluating you before you even apply for the job. You’d make sure to wear your best clothes to an interview, so polish your profile with the same care.

ReputationDefender encourages everyone to stay informed about best social networking practices and take control of their online identity.

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If you are the least bit net savvy, you are likely familiar with Craigslist. The widely used website, which offers leading classified ad services, is active in over 500 cities worldwide and has been an Internet stalwart for over 10 years. But, for the millions of people who have used Craigslist to find an apartment, sell their old furniture or other conventional tasks, there has been a percentage of users who turned to the site for something far more provocative.

Notorious on the net for its “Erotic Services” feature, Craigslist has become a flourishing high-tech tool for the world’s oldest profession. Offering customers anything from a simple massage to an escort for the night, prostitutes have been able to use the website to arrange jobs with ease - much to the chagrin of law enforcement. Also, despite their best efforts, because of the frequency and sheer volume of the postings, there was little the Craigslist team could do to help.

Which all explains why Richard Blumenthal, the attorney general of Connecticut, recently presented Craigslist with a letter demanding the site develop more stringent measures to curb the illegal content. As explained in this New York Times article, the letter, which represented the interests of 40 states, led to ongoing discussions between the parties, ultimately resulting in Craigslist implementing a new series of policies for their erotic services section.

So what’s the lesson from an Online Reputation Management perspective? Quite simply, if you don’t monitor content on your site, the government might end up doing it for you. As the courts and justice system continue to monitor technological advances, expect more regulation of online content from the government in the future.

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I used to see the Internet through rose-colored glasses. In theory, it’s a perfect communications tool. Unlike television or radio, which both require significant money to buy airtime, the Internet allows practically anyone the opportunity to contribute their ideas freely. Also unlike other media, the Internet allows for immediate feedback on ideas. This, in turn, helps strengthen and improve international discourse. I mean, what could be better than that?

Naturally, after actually spending time on the Internet, my optimistic ideals were crushed faster than it takes to get Rickrolled.

It turns out that, in order to have a productive and socially beneficial Internet, people have to not act like jerks. Unfortunately, this simply cannot be so. If you don’t believe me, just head to any forum or comment thread at CNN or FOXNews.

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But why is this? What is it about the Internet that makes people turn from presumably normal upstanding citizens to rabid, ALL CAPS writing cyber bullies? According to a recent article at CNN, the answer is simple: on the Net, nobody knows your name.

Quoting from the article:

“In the [pre-Internet era], you had to take ownership [of your remarks]. Now there’s a perception of anonymity,” said Lesley Withers, a professor of communication at Central Michigan University. “People think what they say won’t have repercussions, and they don’t think they have to soften their comments.”

Contrast that with a face-to-face conversation, or even a phone conversation, where you can judge people’s moods from facial movements or vocal inflections, observes University of Texas psychology professor Art Markman. 

“It’s hard to be aggressive when you’re face to face,” he said.

Moreover, he points out, aggression often carries a subtext of power.

“A lot of times, real anger is an attempt to get control over a situation where the person doesn’t usually have it,” he said. In that respect, comments to blog posts are attempts to strike back.

The story goes on to discuss how this problem is especially common among teen girls, citing the tragic story of Megan Meier which has been covered at ReputationDefender Blog in the past.

Those power games are innately grasped by children and teens, with schools serving as a perennial social laboratory.

Cheryl Dellasega, a Penn State women’s studies professor, ticks off hypothetical examples that could have come straight from the scripts to “Mean Girls” or “Heathers.”

“Girls who are getting teased come home and let their [aggressors] have it by putting something on their blog and starting a rumor campaign,” she said. And instead of rumors simply making the rounds among peer groups — which can be bad enough — “they go out to a much bigger group, a worldwide group. The impact is devastating, and it’s as easy as clicking a button.”

“Kids don’t realize that one post can destroy somebody’s life forever,” she added.

While we should remain hopeful that fair and responsible Internet use will become the norm, it is important to be realistic and take proactive measures to protect our identities online. This is why ReputationDefender offers its customers Life Insurance for the Internet™ through its variety of industry leading products.

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In yet another sign that the apocalypse Internet Age, is fully upon us, The Christian Science Monitor has announced that it will cease publishing its weekday print editions and convert into an online only operation, with the exception of a new weekend magazine. While this news is not directly applicable to the Online Reputation Management Industry,  it is an important symbol of a fast-turning tide in media consumption. Whereas people would traditionally turn to magazines, newspapers or television for information, they are now turning to the Internet in greater numbers.

The internet is increasingly becoming a larger part of people’s lives. From Online Dating to Online Trading, to eCommerce, people are more apt to use the net for transactions that were largely off line endeavors just a few years ago. CSM moving away from print may signal a new paradigm for news services who are struggling with declining circulation in a wired world.

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We’ve spent time writing on the ReputationDefender Blog about the perils of inappropriate social networking with regard to college applications, but we caught a new story which puts a whole different twist on the dangers of poorly managed online profiles.

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With record numbers of applications pouring into the nation’s top universities this fall, college admissions officers have begun to notice a strange trend. As competition for admission into selective universities becomes tighter and applicants are seeking additional ways to distinguish themselves, some students (or their parents) have begun sending anonymous messages to admissions officers that sabotage other applicants.

Pointing admissions officers to unflattering Facebook or MySpace profiles of competing students, sneaky applicants are hoping to disqualify others to increase their own chances of admission. What’s even worse,  because many of the anonymous saboteurs are fellow classmates of the victim, privacy settings are likely to be ineffective in preventing access to a student’s dirty laundry. As if that weren’t bad enough, some of these schemers have even resorted to spreading outright lies about their peers to help dissuade colleges.

While some colleges don’t take these anonymous messages seriously, there are others who pursue every bit of information when they’re making a decision. If all that stands between you and another applicant is an embarrassing picture or a distortion of your character, that could be all that it takes to move your name to the rejected pile.

As disturbing as it is that this type of behavior would take place, it is just one more example of the importance of maintaining a strong online reputation. As the leader in the Online Reputation Management Industry, ReputationDefender is proud to offer a variety of services to help keep you looking good on the web.

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The Online Reputation Management Industry is booming and ReputationDefender is leading the way. With issues of Internet privacy, cyber bullying, social networking and Internet defamation being featured in mainstream media more than ever, people are finally starting to ask questions about the possible effects of their Internet use.

Do employers check my Facebook and MySpace pages?

Are my kids being cyber-bullied?

How can I fight slander and gossip online? 

Michael Fertik, CEO of Reputation Defender, will answer some of these questions on the SpotLight radio program tomorrow, October 23rd. SpotLight, which is hosted by Denise Richardson and Jim Malmberg, “SpotLights” issues of identity theft, privacy rights, data theft and other important areas for individuals and businesses. To read a full preview of the show, check out Denise Richardson’s Blog, GiveMeBackMyCredit.com.

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The Internet is a wonderful thing. From the way that it connects people all over the world to the wealth of information it provides, there has never been a form of media like it. But, for all of its positives, the Internet does have a dark side. As we’ve written about time and time again on the ReputationDefender Blog, the anonymity of the Internet, while providing opportunities to communicate freely, also fosters an environment where slander and defamation can occur with little recourse for victims. But that could change if a defamation lawsuit against Google India is successful.

The lawsuit filed by a Mumbai construction company seeks to reveal the identity of a blogger who posted allegedly defamatory language about the company. A Bombay High Court has ruled in agreement with the company and ordered Google to reveal the blogger’s identity. FYI - Google is involved because the blogger in question used Google’s free blogging service, Blogger.com. As of the writing of the article, Google had not revealed the blogger’s identity. If they were compelled to, however, it could set a significant precedent for the anonymity of Blogger users.

This case represents how, in the Internet age, the legal understanding of privacy and defamation are still unclear. Because courts are being asked to render opinions on Internet cases with laws written for a pre-digital world, every decision made is going to break new ground in internet case law.

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