Digital Disinfectant
New opportunities in the internet world.
The Boston Globe tells of consultants who are making a career enhancing and, in some cases, cleaning up, clients’ digital images–images as in PR, not as in pictures:
Michael Fertik knows all about how online searches can damage reputations. The 2005 Harvard Law School graduate founded ReputationDefender four years ago because he didn’t like how young people’s online behavior could be permanently recorded on the Internet and haunt them later.
“People were losing control of their digital selves, and there was something fundamentally un-American about that,’’ said Fertik, 31. “I don’t think the random product of a Google machine needs to define your life.’’
For a fee that ranges between $10 a month and $1,000 a year, the Redwood City, Calif.-based company works to counteract negative reviews, comments, or blog entries for clients.
I found the article fascinating. What offended me about the concept is the frequent references to one’s reputation as a “brand.” By considering everything as a “brand,” we lose sight of the idea that brands we trust were not built in PR; they were built on consistently providing good products over a period of years.
However, if someone needs help in this area and someone else is willing to help him or her for a reasonable fee, I say go for it. On the other hand, I predict it won’t be long before someone claims that to have been approached by persons threatening to harm his or her digital reputation.