How To Restore Your Online Reputation

There are some things you just don’t do online that can get jeopardize your working reputation. We have a few tips that will help you get started on fixing the problem.

The first thing to do is check your name and see what’s written about you on the Internet. You can do this by typing your name in Google or Bing search. You could have everything from your address to less than flattering You Tube videos.

Sometimes you share names with other people from the famous Playboy model to the straight A Harvard alum. Distinguish yourself online by using a middle initial during internet interactions. Also make sure that your profile pages show your city and/or state so people can easily identify you.

You never know if a potential employer might be looking at your Facebook page. Many companies are using the Web to research new employees. Sometimes it’s not fair, but it’s the real world we live in today.

Getting unflattering material removed is often the hardest part. Emails to Web pages that carry less than flattering materials might never be answered. Try hard to contact the individual, organization or webmaster who is posting the unflattering material and ask them to remove it.

If they fail to do it, contact the Electronic Privacy Information Center (epic.org) or the World Privacy Forum (worldprivacyforum.org) to assist you. These groups are advocacy groups aimed to assist you in removing unflattering materials off the Internet. They actually do a good job at following up on personal matters.