Get Your Online Rep “Clean & Shiny” Courtesy of “Online Reputation Management For Dummies”
If you relatively new to the web or even if you are a long-time established “name brand” person on the web, there is something for everyone in this book “Online Reputation Management for Dummies” written by Lori Randall Stradtman .
This book is required reading for anyone who is dipping their pinkie into the any portion of the web whether it’s Facebook, Pinterest, Myspace or just noodling around. For those who are working it for themselves or for clients–regardless of your professional level– this book should be on your shelf.
For someone like me who has been online for over 15 years, I know what online reputation management is and have had instances when I had to contact attorneys, corporate entertainment vice presidents of both legal and operations to get them to understand that reputation is everything and that you can’t walk away from a site, forum, or even a profile and leave it unmonitored– because someone’s bound to get hurt (namely private citizens as well as myself). Essentially at the time of these encounters, internet law didn’t exist and I was potentially the second case that would have gone to court when we finally got the situation settled. Lucky for me it did get worked out — because internet law was vague, obscure and non-existent– and the battle would have been costly, but I would have won in the long run if only because I am doggedly persistent and great at research.
Today, things are entirely different and you (yeah you on the other side of this screen,) you have some help here that doesn’t cost you much other than some time and highlighting– except you might wind up highlighting the entire book. Online Reputation Management for Dummies is one of the best books around and it’s just out on shelves now for you to sink your eyeballs (as well as fangs) to get a bit of life-blood percolating in your brain about what you need to do to suss out your online reputation status; how to continually monitor it; how to work it to your advantage– and how to save it should your rep start circling the drain due to an attack or mistaken move on your part.
Lori Randall Stradtman did a bang-up job on a subject that would scare some people to death and bury others in the depth of the content necessary.
Photo courtesy of www.socialmediadesign.com
Her ability to suss out the important stuff and make it palatable and easy to understand is crucial to this book and why you need to read it. It’s your bible for keeping your online presence and reputation growing in a positive direction. The book provides tons of resources, sites, ideas, notes and most assuredly “a-ha moments” where you will be suddenly mind-tripping on something you failed to do or something you did do that is counter to what Stradtman tells you is crucial to your success.
Here’s what Stradtman had to say about being tapped to author this book:
Wiley Publishers contacted me over Labor Day weekend in 2011 to write Online Reputation Management For Dummies. When I got the call I was overjoyed, overcome with gratitude, and pretty well overwhelmed when it came to how much I needed to learn about Internet Marketing, SEO, Crisis Management, and Reputation Management.
During the last few months of 2011 and the entire year of 2012 so far, I’ve devoted myself to researching these subjects because they make up a solid online reputation strategy. I had no idea I’d be meeting privately with heroes and villains, quiet SEO & analytics geeks, Hollywood celebrities, white- and black-hat hackers, a world famous defamation litigator, neuroscientists, and world-class online reputation management leaders and bloggers, as well as the people who work for social media departments, everywhere from start-up size to the biggest brands online for the information I now possess.
I’ve even been lucky enough to interview world-class Internet Security experts and two actual founders of the Internet, Karl Auerbach and David J. Steele.
What Lori accomplished in just about a year is amazing in the depth and breadth of her research and interviews. Her table of contents blew me away and I am still wading back through sections as I need to implement certain things she discussed– because while I skated through this book to write this review, there are things I need to go back and check to better handle and manage my online reputation.
Table of Contents: is 20 chapters long and quite frankly, they are easy reading but make no mistake, don’t treat the commentary lightly because there are gems in every single chapter — and things that will make you think. It’s not a FAST read.
Seize opportunities other people miss by seeing everything people are saying about you online (Hint: Google searches don’t tell you half the story!)
Optimize your online communications to drive the kind of traffic you want
Captivate people with engaging content that they can’t wait to share with their own audiences
Deal with any online reputation crisis
While you might think this might be a dumb gift, it’s a smart savvy tome to give anyone from high school student to CEO for them to brush up and clean up any crumbs left on their online reputation. Find it here and make sure you read it carefully and don’t rush through it. Unlike other “dummies” books, that some might be able to skate through, this is not one of them.
This will require some thought and actually sitting in front of a computer or tablet to check out sites and assess your status online.
What I would suggest to you is to buy a couple copies of this book. Keep one for yourself and make sure that you READ it completely — every year! Give at least one copy away to someone you know who is online or their business is online. I would also give one to any assistant, blogger or significant other so they can be in the loop on what to do– and what not to do.
Don’t count on reputation management firms to manage everything. There are things about you they don’t know– and you do. You need to be distinctly pro-active about your business and personal reputation and where they intersect and where they don’t (or shouldn’t).
Here’s my recommendation: buy Online Reputation Management for Dummies and READ it, USE it, and see what changes you can make and see how it changes your personal and/or professional life.
Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com
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