Managing a Damaged Online Reputation

Last night while lying in bed I finally broke down and read an article on Rick Santorum. The article was in the Globe and Mail and was entitled “Rick Santorum: A Republican menace or a messiah?” I had heard the name before but had never cared enough to learn what he actually said and did that got people so upset. He is one of many who’s words and actions lead to a damaged reputation online.

This post was expanded several times as going viral became a raison d’être and many people learned the painful lesson that 15 minutes of fame isn’t always positive. Here are some more examples of people who have online reputation management issues. Most of them are just regular people, they don’t have campaign funds to try and fix their online reputation. This post isn’t about politics, certainly not Rick Santorum’s politics. More interesting to me was what was done with his last name by the folks he had offended, annoyed, or otherwise pissed off.

Google Bombing

The most famous example in the English language of Google bombing is of course George Bush another right-wing American politician but there are some very famous examples online in languages other than English. A Google Bomb is a co-ordinated effort to link to a webpage, using very specific link text, often with critical or humorous intent. Google bombing is another example of the power of search engines, particularly Google, but also an example of the power of self publishing and search engine optimization techniques. 

Angie Varona

I’d actually forgotten the name of one of many teenagers I’d read about who regrets posting stuff to the Internet, but I looked up Angie Varona again. I tried to avoid reposting any of the pictures she now regrets putting online, but I did wonder last night if you can get sued for posting a screenshot of another website. Generally when a lawyer contacts you about something you’ve written online it is bad news, but not always.

The other thought I had after reading more about Angie Varona on Gawker was some people get paid for researching dubious content online, yet another career opportunity I missed out on.

Now in 2022 Gawker Media is no more, a damaged online reputation is bad, but getting sued into bankruptcy is a whole ‘nother level of problems caused by a comment posted online.

Social Media is Dangerous

What you post online can definitely have a major negative impact on your life. It doesn’t matter if you tell the truth or if you said something in confidence or even if your photos were password protected. Tweets, texts, and candid snapshots can spread at the speed of thought. It would be nice if fellow human beings showed a bit more compassion and forgiveness, but based on my own life I don’t expect much of either anymore, certainly not online from the bottom of the barrel of humanity. There is definitely a downside to being Internet famous.

Little is private in your life anymore with modern communication technology. The world of checkins, likes, and timelines will make it even easier for your future boss or your next date to learn stuff you’d rather forget. Don’t be like Rick Santorum, Angie Varona, or even myself, read the recommend best practices or just step away from your computer and cellphone before you post anything in anger or while inebriated.

Sharing isn’t always Caring

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but some female American teenager posted something online that went viral and now it has “ruined their life“. This shouldn’t big news anymore and shouldn’t keep happening with such frequency. In Vancouver we had the Stanley Cup riots which I wrote about, along with many, many, others. The consequences of the alleged rioter’s actions played out online and in the legal system. This week in BC some teenagers allegedly drugged and raped a girl, while others watched and filmed the entire event, then shared it among their friends and eventually a whole lot of people through social media. The legal system may have determined they have not committed a crime.

It isn’t news that people still make poor decisions. And maybe it isn’t news that people don’t learn from their own or other’s mistakes and have to instead “ruin their life” by making outrageous statements, or committing morally bankrupt acts, and then sharing the details with a few friends online via their smartphone. It isn’t news when these pictures start popping up in your Facebook timeline or on the smart phones of acquiescences and strangers. This is the new societal norm. People are still adjusting to it, but clearly some folks aren’t adjusting fast enough.

It isn’t just the bad people that get hurt, it is now January 6th 2022, the one year anniversary of Trump supporters storming the Capitol Building in Washington. The attempted coup was live streamed, it was tweeted, it was blogged about, people died and it definitely did more than damage some online reputations.

Your Personal Life VS Your Professional Life

Why is it so often Americans these stories are about? Chinese people do stupid stuff all the time that ends up on the Internet but America has a very loud and aggressive mass media which amplifies things. Another exampled of a damaged online reputation is Walter Palmer, a dentist who felt the need to fly to Africa and kill a lion. It is no secret in Canada that rich Americans fly into a country just to kill stuff, Brock Lesnar hunts in Canada regularly, but apparently this dentist killed the wrong lion, a lion beloved by tourists and first lured it out of a national reserve.

Many many animals have been shot and killed by guns. Most don’t get eaten, many are killed illegally but now with social media, your prideful pictures taken with your kill can spread wider and faster than you ever imagined, and apparently some people frown on flying to foreign countries, luring animals out of animal sanctuaries and killing them. Perhaps best not to brag about it online because your personal life can definitely affect your professional life online.

More damaged online reputations

In Canada, in 2022, in the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the story my sister shared today was about some Quebecers, many of whom fancy themselves online influencers or reality TV stars who felt the need to party on a flight to Mexico. They got their party, their trip to Mexico, they went viral. I personally don’t think this is as bad as the rioters in Washington or Vancouver, but the story got sufficiently big as more and more details and names come out that I decided to update this post.

James William Awad decided to defend himself in his blog. I didn’t even need to read what he said to realize this was a mistake. Being the organizer of this particular fiasco is not going to help his career. If I was a company, I wouldn’t want to partner on a marketing campaign with an influencer with a damaged online reputation. Dude is using blogspot, I don’t think I’d hire a social media influencer who used blogspot.

Just like the Vancouver Stanley Cup rioters and participants in the attempted coup on January 6th, I’m sure someone online will collect all the names and pictures they can associated with people on the 111 Private Club party plane. The organizer is the most obvious target of irate internet denizens. Just like the rioters, I’m sure these influencers will be scrubbing their social media profiles to try and undo the damage to their online reputations.

Online Reputation Management Best Practices

• Official Google Blog: Managing your reputation through search results
• HOW TO: Manage Your Online Reputation Using SEO
• Protecting Your Online Reputation: 4 Things You Need to Know [INFOGRAPHIC]

If you have any advice about online reputation management or a cautionary tale you wish to share you can leave it below.

This entry was originaly posted on January 7th, 2012, it was last edited on April 22nd, 2024 and is filed under: Rambles and tagged: Google Bombing, Online Reputation, Social Media.