Reputations are on the line on-line

I ran across a interesting topic on crisisblogger concerning executive worry about online reputations.  It drew on a story from PRweek about a survey taken called Risky Business: Reputation Online.  What struck me most was that of the 700 top executives surveyed, 66% of them were unaware that their reputations online were being effected by their own employees  sharing their opinions.

With the population of online conversationalists growing rapidly it is easy to assume that reputations are being shattered or brightened through blogs or forums by the minute.  Not only are consumers and journalists publicsizing facts or feelings about certain companies and organizations, but the those who play an inside role (the employees) are speaking up, or I should say: posting up.

As the ongoing etchical debate of credible blogging continues, taking an objective approach to everything we read is highly suggested.  As crisisblogger says, “The speed with which rumors, accusations, revelations and misinformation can fly in these hyper-networks is unprecedented.”  Like we learn in journalism school and hopefully known from common sense, we always need to evaluate the content  that we read and take it with a grain of salt.

The PRweek story brings up a good point about how this tough economic time can effect all companies, and upset employees with blogs are no exception.  As people with a passion for public relations, but also Americans who appreciate the right to free speech, how do we manage our reputation in a world where one post can make all the difference?  What can we do to continue to build an image while we know others have the right to an opinion that can break us down?

Social Media and Our Professional and Personal Reputations

In Brian Solis’ blog PR 2.0, in a post entitled “In the Social Web, We Are All Brand Managers,” he talks about creating corporate brands using socia media, including Facebook, Twitter, and many more. “Everything we share online, the comments we leave, the posts we publish, the pictures and videos we upload, the updates we tweet, the statuses we broadcast in social networks and lifestreams, contribute to disparate digital recreations of how people perceive us – as an individual, representative of a company.” This line really got me thinking about not only how our brands will be affected by our presence online, but also our personal and professional reputations.

So what can we do to manage these two parts of our lives, and have them co-exist peacefully? Do we need separate profiles for websites like Facebook, so that we can keep our reputations intact? Or does it require personal censorship of some aspects of our personalities that might alter our working relationships with future bosses, colleagues and clients? These are all challenges that we will come across soon as we enter the professional world.

On a side note, Solis also posts the Conversation Prism, and asks viewers to consider where the social media they use in their branding falls. I thought this was interesting, since we have looked at the prism in class.

Weekly roundup

JMC417 students are, understandably, very concerned with the public perceptions of the profession they are entering. Following on posts from the previous week, such as ABC PR’s discussion of the “PR lady” in the Mac vs. PC commercials, this week Sparkle Media points out that in some cases breaches of PR ethics lead practitioners to create crises, rather than manage them. These instances, though relatively uncommon, serve to reinforce popular negative views of public relations. ABC PR countered by highlighting the Radical PR trend in public relations scholarship and practice, which aims to critically analyze mainstream theory and practice and suggest alternative paths. Students pose the question of whether this movement can help alter the profession’s image. Time will tell.

Metis PR addressed instead the question of what makes a good (or bad) PR practitioner. They quite rightly pointed out that clients are not always aware of what their agency can do for them, and so may misconstrue certain actions. This, too, is a question of professional perception, but on a smaller scale.

The Agency strode fearlessly into the treacherous waters of political communication, questioning the media strategy of the GOP handlers in charge of VP nominee Sarah Palin’s public appearances in recent weeks. Electoral campaigns represent a particular niche of communication, which requires practitioners to balance their strategic concerns with the responsibility to provide the citizenry with enough information to make considered voting decisions.

CAST Communication tackled a topic near and dear to my own professional heart, internal communication.
They touch on the difficult balance between encouraging employee engagement (freedom) and managerial monitoring (control), which is always an issue in internal communication, and a frequent source of friction.

Iris Public Relations reflected on whether new media technologies represent a sea change in PR practice, or simply a new set of tools for conducting business as usual. And if the former, do they dampen creativity and innovation? Coming at new media from a different angle, TALLfore noted that the speed with which information and rumors spread, thanks to densely networked rapid communication tools such as Twitter, makes organizations especially vulnerable to crises.

Your Search Engine Results are as Important as Your Resume

by Metis PR

I selected a posting from the PRos in Training blog called, “Your Search Engine Results are as Important as Your Resume.” Most public relations professors, like many of the people in this class, focus on honing their skills while gaining experience. But it’s also important to develop a positive professional image and this includes online reputations. As many students and other up-and-coming pr practitioners are being urged to join the social media bandwagon, it’s essential that they understand and utilize the latest online trends such as social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook and Twitter. In a digital age, public relations must, too become digital. And this begins with immersion in cyberspace. Being internet savvy certainly gives people an advantage as they pursue PR positions and advancements. Clients and other stakeholders want people working for them that understand all things digital.

With this in mind, I think this particular blog is interesting because it discusses professionalism amidst the internet. As college students, it’s likely that everyone in this class at one point or another has posted information about themselves such as photos, videos, blogs, bulletins, and the like on a social networking Web site. With background research only a mouse click away, more and more employers are now Googling job candidates’, searching for any discrepancies. In fact, many job hopefuls have been turned down based on embarrassing or racy search results. It’s important that JMC 417 students are mindful of this trend. I have both a Myspace and a Facebook, and I’m always careful to privatize my information and monitor what other people post. Although privacy settings and a sense of responsibility usually keep online content appropriate, I don’t believe many college students are as careful as they should be. As we begin joining the workforce it’s essential that we become aware of our “digital footprint”. In this blog you’ll find some helpful tips on how to protect your online reputation.