Online Reputation: Myth vs. Fact

More today on Is
the Online World More Dangerous Than the Real World? – Myth vs. Fact , a new
information sheet I recently created. Earlier I highlighted, “Child
Predators on the Internet: Myth vs. Fact.” Another myth is the belief that individuals
have little control over their online reputations:

Myth:
You have no control over your reputation on the Internet.
Fact:
You can take steps to control your online reputation, and many
people do.  Over three quarters of people
in the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom took steps in the
last six months to protect their online reputations. This included searching
online for information that was posted about them, and applying privacy
settings on social networking sites. This is important because 86% of human
resources professionals surveyed stated that a positive online reputation
influences hiring. (Microsoft
Online Reputation Research, 2010)

The research comes from a study we
conducted at Microsoft concerning online reputation for Data Privacy Day
in January, 2010.  The study
surveyed 2,500 consumers, HR managers, and recruitment professionals in the US,
UK, Germany, and France, focusing on attitudes toward online reputation and how
this information can have real life consequences. Among the findings, 63 percent of consumers surveyed are
concerned that online reputation might affect their personal and/or professional life, yet, less than half even consider their reputations when they post
online content.  The full
results are here, and you
can watch a
video highlighting the research findings below.   

Some things individuals can do to help protect their
online reputations include:

Monitor your reputation by searching for information
about yourself on the Internet.

Apply appropriate privacy settings on social
networking services.

Enhance your reputation by posting positive
information in your online profiles.

Defend your reputation by correcting online
information about yourself that is untrue.

For more tips, see: https://www.microsoft.com/protect/parents/cyberethics/reputation.aspx.

--David Burt, CISSP, CIPP