Online Reputation

So, I have been thinking about the way in which information gets around. As we have built avenues for conveying information we have to now get people to read it. We have this blog, presences on LinkedIn and FaceBook, and we just started our Ning site to present the job seeking travels for some professionals who are using our Val-ID-ate tool. So, I have been thinking about starting a rumor. Something scandalous that will make people want to check just to see if it is true.

What starting me thinking about this? I was reading about Lisa Bonet (of The Cosby Show fame) because someone said that she was dating a guy who acts on one of my husband's favorite shows (Stargate Atlantis) and they have 2 children. Well, like most people I go off on a tangent and search IMDB, TV.com, Wikipedia, and all kinds of peripheral sources and I am amazed how many of the sources state that she has a son with another man. This information is apparently false, but it has managed to appear in many news sources so that the rumor persists. No matter what is done to address the rumor, it continues to live.

You see, that is the crazy part about the Internet: it is very hard to control the information that is conveyed - even if it is about you. It is a hard balance: you WANT people to look for you and the things you do, but you don't want to have to do damage control. They now have sites like Reputation Defender that will monitor your existence on the Internet and manage your reputation. I am curious, does anyone know someone who has utilized these services? And if so, what made them sign up for the service. Hmmmm, something new to research (like I don't already have enough on my plate).