All companies should have a decent websites these days–even small, local, businesses need to have a place where their customers can check their opening and closing times, products offered, etc. However, websites are more important than just offering basic information.

If there is one reason why a company needs to pay attention to its website, it is to manage its reputation. If something goes wrong, this is the first place we will look. Despite corporate Japan’s overall indifference to the web – reflected in continuing poor scores – Toyota has been using its global site (not toyota.com but toyota.co.jp) to apologise to the world. “We deeply regret the inconvenience and concern”, it says in a home page splash.

This is essentially what a website is for–to put out an image and engage in search reputation management.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/61a61f4a-3cdf-11df-bbcf-00144feabdc0.html

International reputation management buffs know what anonymity does to the reviewing process online–nothing good. A new website, called Unvarnished, hopes to mimic the success that business-reviewing site Yelp has had but in regards to individuals. That’s right, the site will allow people to anonymously review…you.

Unvarnished is already raising ethical and legal concerns related to privacy and protection from defamation, with many questions focusing on the fact that the critiques are anonymous. Reviewers have overwhelmingly panned the website.

Unvarnished “essentially encourages defamation because it guarantees a forum for venting…. This forum is designed, in essence, for taking swipes at folks you don’t like. And it’s smartly leveraging Facebook’s very popular format to do so,” lawyer Kristen Dumont told the Los Angeles Times.

I think legal concerns, ethical problems, and the established success of competitor LinkedIn will prevent Unvarnished from doing much, despite the kerfuffle about their system of rating individuals.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0405/Scant-praise-for-Unvarnished-a-website-for-reviewing-people

Facebook is a wonderful tool for connecting families that are across the world from each other. Friends are able to keep up with each other and news is constantly updated via friends’ newsfeeds. It really is a wonderful resource. However, there are dangers associated with facebook too, which most job seekers are familiar with.

A recent survey commissioned by Microsoft found that 70 percent of recruiters and hiring managers in the United States have rejected an applicant based on information they found online.

What kind of information? “Inappropriate” comments by the candidate; “unsuitable” photos and videos; criticisms of previous employers, co-workers, or clients; and even inappropriate comments by friends and relatives, according to the survey report, titled “Online Reputation in a Connected World.”

Online defamation can be more detrimental than most people realize. The truth is that facebook can be both a blessing and a curse. Job seekers should be careful in their attempts to hide their profiles, though, as this can often backfire.

http://news.myjoyonline.com/technology/201003/44141.asp