What is reputation … in the digital space?

3 February 2008 by Olivier Zara.

Welcome to this blog which will deal with reputation management on the Internet. The creation of this blog represents the fruition of 2 years of R&D. Before moving on to other things, it is important to define the meaning of the word “reputation” and to touch on some of the stakes involved in the management of digital reputation.

The trust that your close ones place in you can be measured by what is called “reputation”, a word whose root stems from the Latin “reputatio”, meaning “evaluation”. Reputation is thus a social evaluation, or more simply put it is the opinion of one or more people about another person. An opinion is a value judgement and as such it has a subjective dimension. Sometimes, it rests on observable and incontrovertible facts; other times, on rumors, prejudices, even wholecloth fabrications aimed at destroying a rival.

The evaluation centers on a person, a group of people (a community) or an organization (a company). Certain companies have full-time, dedicated entities or people managing their organization’s reputation. As feedback sites (e.g. ePinions, Tripadvisor,…), discussion boards and above all blogs grow, their role will only become more important.

Reputation is a very old mechanism of social control in the sense that each of us seeks to garner the best possible personal reputation (either consciously or unconsciously). In theory, this acts as a strong incentive to behave in socially acceptable ways. For example, it is better to tell the truth than be thought and tagged with the reputation of a liar!

We all have a reputation, whether we like it or not! Our reputation is mostly made or broken through the spoken word and everyone knows how ephemeral those are… For people burdened with a bad reputation, it is easy to make a fresh start by moving to a new town or new company. For those with a good reputation, each move means having to rebuild that reputation from scratch. But today, our social interactions take place more and more through the written word via the Web. If spoken words disappear, written ones endure.

The Internet is a game changer. The written word gains in importance. When a blogger or a person on a discussion board provides negative feedback about another person or a company, their comment is not only set down for all eternity, it is also accessible by anyone anywhere on the planet. In a way, it can be said that our reputation is now global and public, whether we want it to be or not. By ignoring this space, technophobes or « digital immigrants » can hide their heads in the sand. However, do they know what is being said about them in cyberspace? What are they doing to get their version of the facts heard? Probably nothing! They’re taking a ride in the backseat of someone else’s car, all the while wondering where they’re going…

Our reputation is reliant upon our actions. Sometimes, we behave well; other times, we are incompetent and awkward. It is important that the Internet not focus attention on our shortcomings and failures to the exclusion of our good qualities and successes. The Internet can thus become a place of opportunity for some and a hellish one for others. Amateurism is no longer an option. It is vital to know what is being said about us. It is better to manage our Internet reputation than to leave it to someone else to take care of in our stead. We must take our digital destiny in our own hands; otherwise, our destiny will occur without our knowledge or rather without our full assent!

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