Before I provided consultancy due to client demand at end-2006, LarryLim.NET was a free online marketing (mainly SEO) resource. Apart from writing articles like “why is SEO expensive”, I reviewed online marketing consultants in Singapore - their practice and their work. Some were forced to correct their misleading claims because of my reviews and there was one who sued me for defamation.

The company that sued was Xirlynx - a web design and SEO company in Singapore. However, I gave in because I was flying off to LA the following weekend and so we came to a quick settlement. Specifically, I was asked to remove my review and publish a letter of apology for 1 month. The owner, Alvin, later took me out to a Japanese lunch at Oriental Hotel (Singapore) and we became friends - we even exchanged job offers and attempted to work on a project together. It turned out that we came from the same town in Malaysia and even studied in the same secondary school!

Yesterday, I had a little tiff (hopefully, misunderstanding) with Lilian, and someone posted a link to a newly created blog that contained my apology letter - talk about having lots of free time! The cowardly act is obviously an attempt to tarnish my reputation online. Instead of anger, I actually feel sorry for this desperate loser who has probably given up on competing with me profesionally and has devoted much of his time to follow my progress - it’s flattering in a way.

The above is a real-life example of why you need to watch and manage your online reputation. These days, it’s easy for someone to publish something bad about you, and hide behind the anonymity and lack of regulation on the Internet. Things that you blogged about in the past can be dug up from the Wayback Machine and that divorce case may turn up in the state’s online public record.

Now imagine that you just went for a job interview and the employer decided to look you up on the Internet, and found that you’d been sued for fraud when you were younger (and naive). Or in your attempts to seek funding for your project, the investor found some bad rep about your product. How will these affect your chances?

The best solution is to address the issues head-on in your blog or company website, through online press releases, by requesting the removal of libelous news or even the use of legal action. For example, instead of ignoring or denying the allegations in that ill-intended blog, I explained what actually happened and even provided a link to the post, driving the message home that “I’ve got nothing to hide”.

There are also online reputation management companies like ReputationDefender that help you “seek and destroy” slanderous information on the Internet for those who require round-the-clock monitoring, e.g. prominent business people, political figures and celebrities.

So start searching for your name or company on Google. You may be surprised with what you find. ;)

Update - here are 3 articles about Online Reputation Management that are worth reading:
1. Lee Odden: Basics Of Online Reputation Management
2. Andy Beal: Online Reputation Monitoring & Management Beginners Guide
3. Techscape: Watch Your Online Reputation - It Could Cost You A Job