The blogging world today has changed dramatically based on the decision by one Judge on the case involving model Liskula Cohen. An anonymous blogger posted negative comments and statements about Ms. Cohen on their blog, and yesterday – it was ruled that the search engine Google has to provide identification of that blogger. A few other cases are coming out in the media that is focused on this one particular issue.
I have had personal experience with this exact situation when I was a track and field athlete. There were numerous online discussion board sites dedicated to discuss athletes and their performances in track and field, and also share ideas on training, coaching, and recruiting. I would have to say, most of the comments that were made about me were positive, but there were a few that were in my personal opinion, very unprofessional and reflected poorly on the individual.
These individuals felt that they had a “right” to say whatever they wanted to – even if it was negative about a person – and no one would know who they are. The best strategy to combat this is to expose these individuals – they want their identity to be hidden, so it is important to make sure that others online and in the community know who these individuals are. Some ways to identify these people that want to be “anonymous” – such as contacting the host of the discussion board site to determine who this individual is, as well as checking for the ISP number on the computer.
So, the important step to remember is that you have to be proactively managing your online reputation the same way that you do in real life. Make sure to identify yourself with your true name and have a balanced presence. More people are receiving their information online and making first impressions based on this information. Plus, don’t write or post something online that is negative and is unprofessional. This case among unmasking anonymous bloggers will surely be intriguing to see how this develops.
Hope you all are having a great day. 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen
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